Son of an Angel
by Dj man
Summary: Cloud sees a young boy who bears resemblance to two people from his past. It takes place four years after the game. Note: Some romance develops in later chapters. It's been FOREVER since I last updated, I know, I've been busy, but it's FINALLY done!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Cloud and all other characters, names, and places (other than ones you will not find in Final Fantasy VII and anything official relating to it) are owned by Square-Enix.

_Son of An Angel _

_By Daniel Jarlson_

Chapter 1, Freaky coincidences

Cloud rested his head at one of the windows of the Wonder Square, looking down, when one boy caught his eye. The boy was wearing black pants, black shoes, black gloves and a black sleeveless shirt. Cloud could see that he was strong, with strong muscles all throughout his body. The boy also had silver hair that went down slightly in front of his eyes and down his neck in the back. The boy also had green eyes that seemed to have a faint glow. But they seemed soft and gentle, reminding him of someone he knew, while the rest of his body looked like someone else entirely. The boy looked around, then went into another section.

Cloud went to the Battle Square, maybe killing something could help get his mind off that boy. When he walked into the Battle Square, he looked up at the high score board where the highest scores in one session were placed. He saw that his score of 17,824 Had been beaten, chopped up and vomited on, by a new score of 42,659! Cloud almost went weak at the knees at this, then he almost fell over when the person who got the score came out.

It was that same boy, placing two one-handed katanas into sheaths.

"Here," said the boy as he gave the katanas to the woman at the counter, who was just as awed as Cloud, and everyone in the Battle Square.

"You keep them." said the woman.

"Fine," the boy said, hooking them onto his belt. "Have you seen this girl?" The boy asked the woman, pulling out a gold locket and showing the woman the picture inside.

" Yes about four years ago, she came in with that man, over there." the woman said, pointing at Cloud.

"You remember that far back?" the boy asked.

"You don't forget the person who came in over and over again, got the high score, every reward in the machine, won the ultra hard special battle, and had hair like that."

"No, I suppose you wouldn't." the boy responded.

"And, after the incident with the man with a gun on his arm four years ago, no one wants this job. So I don't really have a replacement."

"Well, thank you" the boy said, then he walked over to Cloud and showed him the picture. "Have you seen her?" The picture was of Aeris.

"How do you know her?" Cloud said.

"She's my half sister." This nearly knocked Cloud over, but then he thought to himself, this explained his eyes.

"I don't know how to tell you this, but she died four years ago, before Meteor fell."

"No, this can't be." said the boy, dropping to his knees. His eyes were watering." She was the last family I had left. Mother said that I would find her one day, the last thing she told me before she died. My father was in SOLDIER, and he died nine years ago on a mission to Nibelheim."

"Backup, did you just say your father, who was in SOLDIER, died nine years ago, on a mission to Nibelheim?" Cloud said.

" Yes, I hate myself for looking so much like him, I guess you can already guess who he is? As if all the crap I get from people for looking like this isn't enough, I have to live with the fact that it was because of him and that Meteor that my Mother died."

"Who was your mother?"

"A woman named Ifalna."

"But I thought Ifalna died 20 years ago." Cloud said.

"She once told me she almost did. 8 years before I was born, but father found her and took her to a hospital, where they were able to save her. That's how my parents met. Mother gave me these two Materia. She said I was never to use them, but to keep them safe from anyone who could misuse them." and to sort of tie in with all the other freaky coincidences, he pulled out the White Materia and the Black Materia.

"This is too much for me," Cloud said. "Sorry but I can't bring Aeris or Ifalna back, but I can take you to Aeris's resting place. That's the most I can do. Just let me call up an old friend" Cloud pulled out his PHS and called Cid. "Yeah Cid, I need a ride. Meet me at North Corel. No I'm not smuggling honey glazed moogles. Okay bye. Let's go kid. By the way, what's your name?"

"Cef."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Highwind 3

Cid finally arrived with his new sleek model after Cloud had been filling Cef in on how he and his friends had beat Sephiroth and saved the Planet.

"Well Cef, this is the Highwind 3. The original was destroyed when Meteor fell." Cloud said to Cef as they walked up the ramp on to the Airship.

"Wasn't there a Highwind 2?" Cef asked.

"There was, but for Tifa's twenty first birthday party we all got hammered and Cid thought it would be fun to ram the ship into a mountain." Cloud said just before Cid came down to greet them.

"Cloud, long time no see," Cid said. "I haven't seen you since you blew up my last airship."

"Cid's a bit sketchy on the details. He hit his head really hard." Cloud whispered to Cef.

"Eh, who's this?" Cid said turning toward Cef. "You look suspiciously like he-who-should-not-be-mentioned. Yo-owww." Cloud slapped Cid on the back of the head.

"Have you been reading those Larry Stoner books again? Man, I told you those things were dangerous." Cloud said.

"Well, welcome aboard. Dinner is at seven in the dining room. And Cloud where are we going?"

"The Forgotten City." Cloud answered.

"You mean the City of the Ancients? My Mother told me stories of that place. I never thought I'd ever get to see it." Cef said excitedly.

"Okay, it'll take a few hours. Make yourselves at home." Cid said before walking off.

"I'll be on the deck." Cef said, running up the staircase. Cloud walked into one of the empty rooms and threw his bag on the bed. He sat down and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. It had been a long day, so he decided to take a quick power nap. When he woke up fourteen minutes later, he saw Cid running through the hall.

"Hey Cid, where you going?" Cloud asked him lazily.

"That kid's makin' weird noises, like he's stomping around." Cid said angrily. After listening for a few moments, Cloud heard it too.

"All right, I'll go see him." Cloud said. When Cloud got up to the Deck, he saw Cef without his shirt on, at least ten pounds of weights strapped to each arm and leg, a twenty pound weight wrapped around his stomach, and had both of his katana's out and was training with them, going surprisingly fast. He sliced the air, he jumped and twirled. Watching Cef was like watching a dance. So graceful, yet so powerful. He jumped in the air, flipped backwards while he was still in the air and slashed while he was upside down.

"That's Impressive." Cloud said.

"I've always been strong," Cef said. "And I'm not quite sure how."

"Simple, you're the son of the legendary Sephiroth. That definitely has some value to it." Cloud said.

"You wanna go a round?"

"What"

"You're Cloud Strife, the only person to have ever defeated my father in a swordfight. I want to test myself against that."

"Well, okay." Cloud said. He drew his sword, it had been a while since he had held it in a fighting stance. But he still felt comfortable with it. Cef unstrapped his weights. By the noise of the thud when they hit the ground, Cloud guessed that they weighed a lot more than what he had thought. He got into a stance, and lunged at Cloud with his two swords.

Cloud put his sword up, and Cef's swords clashed with it. Cef pushed off Cloud's sword with his own, sending him up into the air. While Cef was in the air, he brought his swords above his head and crashed them down on Cloud's sword. Cloud swung his sword and Cef flew back, landed, and composed himself. He charged at Cloud, striking several times, Cloud blocked every one of them. Cef crossed his blades to make an X, and thrusted so that Cloud's sword went into it, then Cef flipped it out of his hand. It landed several feet away on the deck, and Cef pointed a sword at Cloud's chest.

"Wow, you're really good." Cloud said, never taking his eyes off Cef's sword. "Okay, I lost. You can put those away."

"Oh no, I'm waiting for you to surrender. If I put my swords away now, you grab yours and I'm left defenseless."

"Oh come on."

"Say it."

"Fine, I surrender." Cef examined him for a few moments, then put his swords away. In about half a second they were out at Cloud's throat again, intercepting him from his sword.

"Oh your good." Cloud said.

"I try." Cef said before picking up Cloud's sword, gathering it with his things and began to walk away.

"Hey, where are you going?" Cloud shouted after him.

"You've been naughty. You'll get your toy back after dinner.

"DINNER!" they heard Cid call.

"I thought dinner was at seven." Cloud said.

"It is, we got here at six-forty." Cef answered him. The two of them went down for dinner, then two and a half hours later landed just outside The City of the Ancients.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Resurrection

Cloud led Cef to the pool where they had placed Aeris's body. There was a head stone at one end of the pool, which read:

Aeris Gainsbourough  
Loved One,  
Hero,  
Friend  
May she rest in peace

Cef's eyes watered as he read this. He turned his head away from it and instead to the pool of water. He reached in the bag he always carried with him and pulled out a Revive Materia.

"I can't believe it," Cef said, "she's really gone. I have no one left. My mother, my sister, even my wretched father. There's no one left. No one left at all."

"Cef, I'm sorry." Cloud said.

"How did she die?" Cef asked.

"Oh, um." Cloud stammered. How could he tell him that his father, who he already despised, was the one responsible for his sister's death? "Well, she was k-k-ki-killed."

"By who?"

"Um,"

"Come on, why wont you tell me? I deserve to know!"

"She was killed by, a, um, a monster. One of the monsters in this area."

"Why didn't you tell me that earlier?"

"It's an uncomfortable subject."

"Truly? That's the only reason you didn't tell me? If I asked anyone of your friends they would all say the same thing?"

"No. No they wouldn't. She was killed by Sephiroth. I'm sorry."

Cef stood still for a few moments. He looked at his silver hair. He saw his reflection in the water. A tear fell from his face and sent ripples across the water's surface, destroying the hated image he saw in it.

"Why?"

"What?" Cloud said confused.

"Why did she have to fall in love with him? My mother, how could she love such a vile creature? She was a Cetra. Didn't the Planet warn her? Why didn't she just stay away from him? She should have just stayed away from him. He killed my mother, my sister, why didn't he kill me too?"

"Cef, don't say that. The only thing worse than living in grief is not living at all. You're still young, you have plenty to live for."

"Like what? People see me and either fear me or hate me. People are stupid, they don't see past the skin. They won't spend time to get to know me, all they'll care about is the fact that I have silver hair and green eyes. They'll lock their doors and pull their children in. And why? Because four years ago, my father," and when he said the word _father_, he said it with such hate you expected things to die around him, "my father nearly destroyed this Planet. He killed countless people. They have a right to hate him. But I'm different. I'm NOT evil! I'M NOT MY FATHER!" Cef screamed into the air.

"Um, Cef." Cloud stammered. Cef turned to him, hatred burning in his eyes.

"What." Cef said in a voice so cold Cloud expected the plants to curl around him.

"What's the Revive Materia for? You can't bring Aeris back with that. Nothing can bring her back. I know death's a difficult concept to grasp, but you can't just reverse it because you want to."

"They say when a Materia breaks, all its energy is released as one ultimate blast. If a Fire Materia breaks, then a roaring inferno is created. If a Cure Materia breaks then a heavenly light is made that heals the ailments of all who touch it." Cef said.

"What're you doin' here?" Cloud heard a familiar voice say. He turned around to see Barret standing there with a bouquet of flowers.

"Cef, this is Barret," Cloud said.

"I thought you said Barret's wife died?" Cef said, taking note of the relatively new wedding band around Barret's finger.

"Well, ya see Elmyra was so good to Marlene, and her daughter Aeris saved Marlene and the world, so..."

"You married ELMYRA?" Cloud said.

"She's a good woman." Barret answered. "I'm just here to pay my respects to Aeris. I come here alot. She saved my little girl."

"Great, now Cef what were you saying about Materia breaking?" Cloud said.

Then Cloud noticed the look in Cef's eyes. He had seen that same look in Aeris's eyes before, that I'm-about-to-do-something look. "What are you going to do?"

"THIS!" Cef said. He threw the Revive Materia into the air and hit it with his sword and the pieces and a strange green light that seemed to be caged in the broken pieces fell into the water, and a few seconds later a pillar of green light shot out of the water. After it settled, a figure with a blinding green aura rose out of the water and landed in front of them.

The light settled and they could all clearly see who it was. Aeris raised her head to them all.

"What happened?" she said in a voice Cloud thought he would never hear again.

"You don't remember?" Cloud asked.

"No," she said.

"You were killed by my father right after you finished summoning Holy. You've been dead for four years." Cef said.

"Wow, I actually summoned Holy. Did it work? Well it must have. The world's still here. I'm sorry, did you say your father?" Aeris said.

"Yes, as much as it pains me I am his son. But I'm also you're half brother."

"MY WHAT!" Aeris shrieked.

"We had the same mother." Cef answered. "But she's dead."

"Come on Aeris, I'll explain it all later," Cloud said as they the lead Aeris to the third installment in the Highwind series.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Gold Tournament

It had been about a week since Aeris had been revived. Cef stuck to her like glue. He was being very protective of her, ironic as he was the younger sibling.The first day Aeris was having trouble walking, not having used her legs for four years. Cef helped her along, and in a few hours she was walking fine. They had dropped Barret off at Kalm where he lived with Marlene and Elmyra. And Cloud was just happy to have Aeris back. One day, Cloud's PHS rang.

"Hello?" Cloud said into the phone.

"Hey Cloud, it's Yuffie." said Yuffie (obviously) on the other end of the line. "So, did ya hear?"

"Hear what?" Cloud asked.

"The Gold Saucer's Battle Square is holding a martial arts tournaments for the sixteen people with the highest scores, and naturally the eight of us are invited. And someone else named Cef. He got a MAJOR high score. Heh heh, he sure made you look like crap. Oh, and the tournament's in a week."

"Thanks Yuffie," Yuffie was still giggling when Cloud cut the line.

"So Cloud," Cef asked, "what did Yuffie want?"

"She called to tell me there's going to be a tournament at the Gold Saucer for the high score holders in the Battle Square." Cloud answered. "Oh, and she said you make me look like crap."

"Cloud," Aeris said, "don't use language like that around Cef. He's just a baby."

"Y'know," Cef said, "Technically I've been alive longer than you have."

"Yes, but I was born twenty-six years ago."

"You were re-born a week ago."

"Yer both bickerin' like God damn two year olds" Cid said, finishing their argument. Aeris put her hands on Cef's ears, but he brushed them away.

"So Cloud," Cef asked, "when is the tournament?"

"In a week."

"Good, well then I better get training." Cef began to walk off when Aeris said,

"I don't see why, your not entering the tournament."

"WHAT!" Cef yelled. "I'm the high score holder."

"You're also twelve. And it's dangerous even for an adult."

"But I'm stronger than all the other entrants"

"Hey," Cloud and Cid said simultaneously.

"It's not safe." Aeris said.

"But they forbid non-lethal weapons when two people fight."

"So you'll get your organs ruptured by a wooden sword?"

"I'm not gonna get my organs ruptured!" (Cef was slightly skeptical that he had actually said 'gonna.')

"Sure, you say that now."

"The slums of Midgar were more dangerous then this tournament."

"I don't care. You're not entering, and that's final. Besides, I'm the closest thing you have to a legal guardian, which means the law is on my side."

"You're not the boss of me!"

"Okay, okay," Cloud interrupted, "Cef, calm down, Aeris, these tournaments are perfectly safe. Cef'll have me watching out for him, so you know he's safe." Cloud stifled a laugh.

"What's so funny?" Cef yelled.

"Oh, nothing much," Cloud said while still holding back his laughs, "just that this conversation has dispelled any doubts that you two are brother and sister."

"What does that mean?" Cef and Aeris said in perfect unison. Then Cid started to get it.

"Oh, I see. Yeah, I guess that is pretty funny."

"What?"

"When Cef said 'You're not the boss of me' he sounded just like every other little sibling on the Planet." Cloud said. Cloud and Cid looked at each other, thenburst out laughing together. Aeris ignored them and said to Cef:

"Well, if Cloud says it's safe than I suppose it is. You can enter the tournament." Cef's face beamed, then he ran forward and hugged Aeris.

"Thanks sis," he said before running off to his room.

"Cloud," Aeris said, but Cloud was still laughing. "Cloud," Cloud kept on laughing. "CLOUD!"

"What?" Cloud said, wiping tears from his eyes.

"Are you sure this tournament is safe? Cef might be strong, but he's little. If he fought some really big guy than, even if he did win the man could still fall on him. I just want to make sure he's safe."

"Trust me," Cloud said, "these tournaments are perfectly safe. Besides, the chances of Cef being up against some really big guy are slim to none."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The Tournament Begins

In the first round of the tournament, Cef was paired off against a man who towered at almost seven feet, had shoulders almost as wide as Cef was tall, and had muscles as big as basketballs. His skin was tanned and his hair was slicked back and tied to keep it out of his face. He wore black skin tight pants and no shirt, giving Cef a good view of his oily stomach muscles. Cef gripped the handles on his wooden katanas (they had not allowed the real ones in, much as he protested) with anxiety, however he kept a cool face with his eyes closed.

"WHOOOOO! You get 'em Cef!" Aeris shouted from the crowds. Cef kept his cool face, but if one were to look closely one might just see his cheeks were a touch redder than usual.

"Little guys like you ain't supposed to enter tournaments with us big guys." The large man said.

"First of all," Cef began, "its little guys like you _aren't _supposed to enter tournaments with us big guys." Cef opened his eyes and craned his neck back to look up at the big man's head. "And second of all size has nothing to do with strength or fighting ability. And thirdly, I could kill you right now in the blink of an eye, without the use of any weapons."

A few seconds later the bell rang. The large man held his hands in front of his face and cracked his knuckles, which he shouldn't have done because when he put his hands in front of his face, for that one moment there was a blind spot in his line of vision where Cef was standing, and Cef dashed between his legs and was behind him. The man was confused for a few moments, looked around, than he turned around. Cef waited till that moment so his maneuver would have maximum effect. He jumped on the man's bent knees, ran upwards, using his bulky muscles as footholds. He ran straight up his face, causing the man to close his eyes. He waved his arms frantically to get Cef off him. Cef jumped on his arms, using their momentum to shoot himself into the air. When he was up there, he drew both his katanas.

"Hey, where'd ya go?" the large man said. He spun around, but he couldn't see Cef. He looked up in the air and saw Cef above him with the blades of both wooden katanas above his head. Cef yelled as he brought the swords crashing down. It was the man's own bulk that led to his downfall. He had spent so much time exercising his muscles, he had no time to exercise his brain, and he had not learned that muscles in the face, particularly around the eyes, cannot be toughened or trained, making this the body's natural weak spot. Cef had learned this, and unfortunately for the man, this was where he brought the blades of his katanas. The man fell to the ground, clutching his face in pain and rolling around.

"Ow ow ow ow ow ow!" the man said as he rolled around on his back. "You little monster!" He took his hands away from his face, revealing two long bruises going across his eyes. He started to get up, but Cef slapped him across the face with the side of his wooden katana. The man fell to the ground, and when he didn't get back up the announcer declared Cef the winner. Two paramedics ran out with a stretcher. They grabbed the man's arms and legs, but could not lift him up. Two more paramedics ran out, then four more, and finally, once they had two people to each limb, they hoisted him onto the stretcher and carried him into the back room.

Cloud and the gang were lucky enough that they didn't have to fight each other. Except for Cait Sith, he went up against Tifa and got his sorry self defeated in under a minute. In the next round, Cloud was fighting Red XIII, Tifa was fighting Cid, Barret was fighting Vincent and Cef was paired off against Yuffie. Cloud, Tifa and Vincent made it to the next round, and finally, it was Cef's turn to fight again. When Cef walked into the ring, Yuffie had her hands on her hips and was leaning forward, taunting Cef.

"Sooooooo," she said, "you're the great Cef who got the impossibly high score. And you took that big guy down like he was nothing. I never knew Sephiroth even had a son."

"How did you know?" Cef said.

"It was obvious. You have the same hair color, and Sephiroth has _way_ unusually colored hair." She unstrapped the bamboo shuriken off her back. It was two sticks of bamboo, crossed to make an X and tied together. Cef knew she had much more skills than his last opponent, but his belief that he could beat her didn't waver. Cef drew his katanas and got into a fighting stance. "This should be fun." Yuffie said, getting into a stance of her own. The starting bell rang, and the two lunged at each other. They were almost the same size, Yuffie being taller by about eight inches, so Cef knew he couldn't rely on the same strategy he had used on his last opponent. They unlocked their weapons and jumped back. Yuffie threw her over sized shuriken. Cef jumped back and the weapon's path curved and flew back to Yuffie.

"It'll take more than that to beat me," Cef said. He jumped in the air and brought his katanas down on Yuffie, but she raised her shuriken and caught the two swords. Cef pushed off with them, did a flip in the air and touched down. While Cef was still in the air, Yuffie had jumped in the air and threw her shuriken down at him. Cef hit it away, and Yuffie did a hand spring to the side so she would be in the right area to catch it. She threw it again, this time right at Cef's head. Cef ducked, the weapon whizzed right over his head, turned and flew back to Yuffie. She caught it swiftly in one hand, than smiled at Cef.

"Like it?" she asked tauntingly. "It's a Wutaian weapon crossed with a four-pronged boomerang, making it _way_ more deadly." Cef was starting to get annoyed at how she said the word _way_. "It'll deal more damage due to its larger size and blade, but the aerial physics will make it come back to me."

"Impressive," Cef said. He charged forward. Yuffie put her shuriken up to block. Cef knew that just bringing down his swords on the bamboo would have no effect, so he sliced instead of chopped. In two movements, he had reduced Yuffie's 'boomiken' to roughly twice the size of a normal shuriken. Yuffie stared at her once proud weapon in disbelief, and Cef took advantage of this time to dash behind her. He sliced twice: once vertically down her spinal cord and once horizontally across her kidneys. Time seemed to pause, than Yuffie dropped the remains of her weapon, her eyes whited out, she dropped down to one knee, than the other, and then she fell flat on her face with a sickening crack. The paramedics quickly rushed out and took her into the back room. Cef followed quickly, surprised that he was actually concerned for her.

"Oh, this is bad," Cef heard one of the medics say. Cef walked into the ER, and saw Yuffie face down on a bed, blood gushing from her nose. There was an X-ray machine over her, and an image of her insides was showed on the room's screen.

"Well I hope you're happy," the other medic said to Cef when he noticed he was there. "With torn kidney tissue, this girl will be lucky if she survives, but with three cracked vertebrae there's no way she'll walk again." Cef pushed past him, and reached into his bag and pulled out a Full-Cure Materia. He squeezed it, beads of sweat forming on his fore head. A bright green beam shot out of the small sphere, resting on Yuffie's unconscious body. Her nose regained its original shape, and the pool of blood around it disappeared. On the screen, the broken vertebrae fitted back together and her kidneys regained their original shape. Yuffie's eyes popped open, the medics moved the X-ray machine and she sat up.

"Amazing," the first medic said. Yuffie looked around, then she noticed Cef was there. "You should thank this boy," the medic said.

"You," Yuffie said in a voice full of hate. "You're a monster, just like your father." These words stung Cef deeper than she had originally intended.

"W-what do you mean? I saved you." Cef said.

"You almost killed me. Now I'll probably have another scar from your family." Cef looked her up and down. He didn't see a scar, and she was wearing barely any clothing. Than he noticed the large cloth _ thing _on her arm, and realized where this scar was.

"I-I'm sorry," Cef said. He turned his head away from her, he didn't want her to see him cry.

"Your father led the attack on Wutai, he killed dozens of people, including my mother. He would have killed me too if my father hadn't intervened. He gave me this:" Yuffie ripped the cloth cover off her arm, revealing a particularly nasty scar running the length of her arm. "Just get out." Cef turned and walked out the door, wiping the tears from his eyes. He hated his father even more.

In the next round, Cloud fought Vincent and Cef fought Tifa. Cloud ended up beating Vincent, and finally Cef went up against Tifa. Cef walked into the ring, and Tifa pushed past him getting into her starting spot. Cef drew his katanas, and Tifa put her fists up. She had a scornful look on her face, most likely upset about what Cef had done to Yuffie. The bell rang, and Cef ran at Tifa.

Unlike Yuffie, Tifa didn't run straight at him. Instead she pretended to, but when they were about five feet apart she jumped to the side, getting herself behind Cef. Cef quickly put his sword behind him, blocking the kick that Tifa had thrown. Cef twirled around and skipped backwards, facing Tifa. The two circled each other, then lunged straight at each other. Cef swung one of his katanas, but Tifa caught it and spun it out of his hand. She caught it in the air, and used it to knock the other katana out of Cef's hand. Cef used a kick that caught Tifa in the forearm, causing the weapon to fly out of her hand. They attacked each other for about a minute, blocking, punching, dodging and kicking, when Tifa delivered a round house kick that was so fast, Cef had only one option.

Cef bent his knees, leaned back and spread his arms for balance. His back was about eight inches off the ground, and his knees were painfully bent at ninety-degree angles. Tifa lowered her kick as best she could, and Cef hoped that it wouldn't be enough to reach him. She was wearing steel-toed boots. Her foot was a hair's breadth away from Cef's neck, but although the kick didn't hit him, there was another effect. Cef's golden locket, the one that Ifalna had given him that contained the picture of Aeris, flew out from under his shirt due to the momentum of his maneuver. The locket's chain snagged on Tifa's boot, broke off of Cef's neck and flew out of the ring. Cef dived from his current position, spinning through the air to catch it. To all onlookers, it looked as though Tifa had merely kicked him and sent him flying. He landed with his arms outstretched, and caught the locket just in time.

"And Tifa wins by default!" Cef heard the announcer say. Cef looked and realized he was well outside the ring. He stood up, picked up the wooden katanas and walked into the back room.

Tifa went on to face Cloud, who was extremely tired after his bullet dodging affair with Vincent. Tifa won the match easily, and was declared the champion. Later, Cloud, Cid, Cef and Aeris (who was wearing a large trench coat, wide brimmed hat and sunglasses so no one would recognize her) were walking up to the Gold Saucer's heli-pad where the Highwind 3 was parked.

"Oh Cef," Aeris said, "don't look so sad. You did your best, but you were going hand to hand with Tifa, and that's impossible."

"I could've won," Cef said sullenly. He was examining the locket's broken chain. Cloud saw it and pieced together what happened.

"I think I get what happened." Cloud said. Then Tifa ran up and pushed Aeris aside without even recognizing her.

"Cloud! Why are you with _him_?" she said pointing to Cef.

"It's a long story," Cloud said. Tifa snorted, turned around and tried to look down at Cef, but Aeris was in the way.

"Excuse me ma'am," Tifa began. She looked up at Aeris's face. Tifa's eyes were wide as she recognized the person in front of her. "I don't believe it." She said. Tifa reached a hand up and pulled the sunglasses off of Aeris's face, and took two steps back in disbelief. "What the _hell's_ going on?" she screamed.

"Can we explain this later?" Cloud begged. "We're all tired and sore from the tournament and it's a long story. Hey Tifa, why don't you come aboard the Highwind 3? It's way better than the last two."

"Alright," Tifa said. "But first thing tomorrow you're explaining to me why she's not dead." Tifa pointed to Aeris as she said this.

"We'll explain all that and more." Cef said. He took Aeris's hand in his and the five of them walked off and onto the airship (that had a picture of Lady Luck painted on the side that Aeris begged Cid to remove for Cef's sake. Cid said that it was what kept them safe, and Aeris argued that he just liked looking at it.)


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Tifa's Compassion

It had been three days since the tournament at the battle square. Tifa had accepted that Aeris was alive again, and Cef was still following her wherever she went, being the un-stereotypical little brother. Cef, Aeris, and Tifa were on the deck of the Highwind, each of them with an ice cream cone in their hands. Cef was standing in the middle of the deck, his eyes closed, not even having touched his ice cream cone while Aeris and Tifa were standing at the railing talking.

"So Cef is really your brother?" Tifa said, still a little skeptical that the two of them were related.

"Half brother, yes." Aeris answered, taking a lick of her ice cream.

"But Cef's father if Sephiroth?" Tifa asked, taking a lick of her own ice cream.

"Yes" Aeris answered.

"So are you related to Sephiroth?" Tifa said, sounding confused.

"No, we had the same mother, not father." Aeris said, slurping a chunk of her ice cream into her mouth.

"But you're fourteen years older than Cef, but your mother died when you were six."

"We though she died, but after my foster mother took me to her house Sephiroth found my mother and took her to a hospital. That was how they met."

"How do you know this?" Tifa asked.

"Cef told me." Aeris said, biting into the cone of her ice cream.

"How can you trust him?" Tifa said, glancing over her shoulder at Cef, who was still standing there motionless.

"Who, Cef?" Aeris said, looking at Tifa with a look of disbelief on her face.

"Of course I mean Cef. Just look at him. He's so… emotionless. He never smiles, frowns, scowls, cries or laughs. He just stands there. Every day, all he does is eat, tail you and train with his swords. Besides, he's theson of _Sephiroth_. Remember? He killed you."

"If you honestly think Cef is emotionless, you really don't know him. And, he's also the son of my mother. Besides, the Sephiroth who killed me wasn't really himself. I can feel my mother telling me he was really kind and gentle, before he lost control of himself." Aeris said, looking up at the sky.

"Oh please," Tifa said. As she said this, she folded her arms on the railing, accidentally tipping her ice cream cone over. The ball of ice cream on the top fell off and plummeted to the forests they were passing over. "Awww, I was eating that." Tifa said glumly.

"Here, take mine." Cef said, holding his ice cream cone out to her.

"Thanks," Tifa said, taking the cone out of his hand. Cef walked down the staircase and opened the door to the airlock that went into the ship, shaking the melted ice cream that had dripped onto his glove off.

"You still think he's heartless?" Aeris asked.

"Maybe not entirely, but he's so cold. It's impossible to tell what's going on in his head."

"You should be more considerate." Aeris said.

"Why? It's not like he would care."

"Of course he would care. And as for why, I would expect you of all people would sympathize for him."

"Why would I sympathize for him?" Tifa asked, looking skeptically at Aeris.

"Because, you lost your parents at a really young age, and he lost his at an even younger age."

"You're right, Sephiroth died nine years ago. Cef would be only three then." Tifa looked thoughtfully into the sky, thinking of what it must be like for Cef. People praised Cloud and his gang for defeating Sephiroth. If people saw Cef, who looked so much like Sephiroth, they wouldn't be able to understand that he had had it harder in his twelve years than most people had in their entire lives. People feared what they didn't understand, and they hated what they feared. Maybe that's why she herself had hated him at first.

"So are you going to be more considerate towards Cef?" Aeris asked.

"I suppose I should," Tifa said, "but just having a rough childhood doesn't justify what he did to Yuffie."

"You mean save her?" Aeris said.

"What?"

"After the fight, Cef went in the back room and used a Materia to heal her." Aeris said.

"I suppose it would have been better to know that before judging him," Tifa said remorsefully.

"You shouldn't judge people period," said a cold voice from behind them.

"Cef!" Tifa said, "h-how long have you been there?"

"Since about the time Aeris started telling you about my past."

"I guess you're right about that thing about not judging people." Tifa said.

"I've been the victim of prejudice the majority of my life; I know what bad effects it can cause."

"I'm sorry about how people have been treating you, but I promise not to treat you like that anymore." Tifa said, putting a friendly hand on Cef's shoulder.

"Thank you, I appreciate that." Cef said, letting only the tiniest hint of a smile appear on his face.

"Cef, I need to ask you something about the tournament," Tifa said.

"Come down to my room after you've finished your ice cream, I know what you're going to ask and it would take to long to explain up here." Cef said. He turned his back on the two women, walking down the staircase into the belly of the airship.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Cef's Story

Cef was sitting on his bed, holding his locket in his hand. He was staring at the picture in it thoughtfully, when Tifa knocked on his door.

"Can I come in?" she called through the door.

"Sure," Cef answered, snapping the locket closed. Tifa opened the door and stepped into the room. She saw the locket in his hands and the fact that it was missing its chain.

"I have a gold chain that would go well with that," she said.

"Thanks, but that's not necessary," Cef said to her. "As long as I have the picture inside, that's all that matters."

"Well, it's a very pretty locket," she said. "But like I said earlier, I have something I want to ask you about the tournament."

"Shoot," Cef said.

"Well, that last kick that I used, did it actually hit you? Because I wouldn't feel right knowing that you just threw yourself out of the ring."

Cef hesitated before saying "No Tifa," and still staring at his locket, he said "the kick missed me. I jumped out on my own accord."

"But why?" she asked.

"Because," Cef began, "when I threw myself back, this locket, which still had its chain then, flew up from under my shirt and got caught on your foot."

"And then I made it fly out of the ring, and you jumped to save it." Tifa concluded. "I'm sorry," she said, "now I need to give you that chain. I'll be right back." She ran out of the room and few minutes later she came back holding a thin gold chain in her hand. "Here, I don't need it for anything."

"Thank you," Cef said. He slipped the chain through the locket's small metal ring, then brought the ends of the chain behind his neck and fastened them together. Once it was in place, he slipped the locket under his shirt.

"So why do you care about that locket so much?" Tifa asked.

"You might want to sit down; it's kind of a long story." Tifa sat down next to Cef on the bed, crossed one leg over the other and put her hands behind her to support herself.

"When I was very little, still a toddler my mother and I lived on Midgar's upper plate. My father didn't appear much, usually off on missions for SOLDIER. When I was three he died. My mother cried so much when she got the letter telling what had happened, that he had died due to an accident in the reactor him and his partner were checking out. Shinra sent my mother a settlement check, and they continued sending them once a week. Then it was once every two weeks, then once a month, and soon they stopped coming at all. When I was five we had to move to a much smaller house, but my mother's job wasn't enough to support us and soon we had to move to the slums. We lived in a run down house that had one bedroom, a dirty bathroom, and the kitchen was just a tiled area in the corner of the living room that had a filthy stove and refrigerator."

"Sounds bad." Tifa said. I feel so sorry for him, she thought. Even I didn't have to grow up in the slums.

"It was," Cef said. "My mother let me have the bedroom, and she slept on the couch. We lived like that, just trying to survive each day, until four years ago when _he_ showed up again. People began calling me and my mother terrible names. There were gangs of bullies that would pin me to a wall and beat me, just because I had silver hair. There were even rape gangs that chased after my mother. She barely ever went out because of that. Eventually she bought a handgun for protection. She remained so optimistic throughout the entire thing, but a few weeks before Meteor fell she just got so depressed. I tried to comfort her, but she would just say that there was nothing they could do and it was all going to end any way. I was so confused as to why she was saying that, but now I know that it was because the Planet told her that Aeris, who had the White Materia, had died. One day, I came home from school covered in bruises, and my mother asked me if a gang of bullies had gotten me again. I said they had, and my mother tried to make me feel better by taking me to the beach near Midgar. While I was playing in the sand, I saw my mother bend down in the water and pick up two things that reflected the sunlight. She looked at them like they were priceless jewels. I asked her what they were, but she just hid them in her things and told me not to think about it."

"What were they?" Tifa asked.

"The White and Black Materias."

"How'd they get there?"

"I'm not sure. The White Materia fell into the water at the Forgotten Capital, and the Black one must have fallen into some underground river during the chaos that ensued when my father used it. But the real reason they washed up there must have been because the Planet wanted my mother to have them. It doesn't matter, my mother hid them, and whenever I asked about them she just changed the subject. The day Meteor fell was horrible. People started to see it fall and they started to riot. They attacked my mother and I and there was nothing we could do. Then the people all just scattered, screaming. I looked up, and there were pieces of flaming metal falling from the plate. I stood there looking at them; one was coming down right on top of me. Oh God, I was such an idiot." Cef began to cry, and Tifa put her arm around him.

"There there Cef," she said comfortingly. "You can't blame yourself for what happened, it wasn't your fault."

"My mother pushed me out of the way and the piece of metal hit her instead. She gave me the Materia and the locket and then she d-died." Cef sobbed uncontrollably into Tifa's shoulder. She stroked his hair comfortingly, and said things to cheer him up.

"Oh, is this a bad time?" Cloud was standing in the doorway, feeling awkward.

"What do you want Cloud?" Tifa asked.

"Y'know what, its nothing. Hey Cef, you okay?" Cloud asked.

"He'll be fine," Tifa said. "He just needs some hot chocolate." Cloud left, Tifa laid Cef down on his bed and came back a few minutes later with the beverage she promised him. "Here, drink this. I promise it'll make you feel better."

"Thanks," Cef said. He took the mug from her hand and took a sip of it.

"Listen," Tifa said, "you can't blame yourself for what happened with your mother. She did what she did because she loved you. And I'm sorry about what I did at the tournament."

"It's okay; you've more than made up for it." Tifa began to leave, and when she was at the door Cef said "And Tifa?"

"Yes Cef?" Tifa said.

"Thank you." Cef said smiling. Tifa smiled back, turned and walked out the door.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: A Visit Home

Cef was standing on the deck of the Highwind 3, looking out at the landscape, thinking about the day before, when he had told Tifa about his life, when Cid's voice called up through the comm. System. It was really only a series of hollow pipes that ran though the ship, sticking out of the walls and blossoming out in each room. You spoke into it, and the acoustics carried the sound throughout the entire ship.

"Now approaching Midgar, anyone want off?" Cid called. Cef walked over to the speaker for the deck.

"I do," Cef said.

"What the hell for?" Cid yelled. Aeris's voice was the next to be heard.

"Cid, I asked you not to use language like that around Cef, he's too young." Aeris scolded.

"Y'know, technically he's older than you are." Cid said jokingly.

"Please, not this again," Aeris sighed.

"Cid you're going to fly right over Midgar," Cef said.

"Right," Cid said. The ship stopped abruptly, then began it's descent towards the ground. "So, Cef, what sector do you want to go to?"

"Three," Cef said. He was worried about where he was going, and scared of what he might find there. Cloud, Aeris, and Tifa accompanied Cef on the way. Since they only had the key to the fifth sector, they had to first go there and then ride a train to get to the third sector. Once they were all sitting in awkward silence on a car that was empty save for them, Aeris tried to start a conversation.

"So Cef, why did you all of a sudden want to go to Midgar?" she asked. Aeris was biting her lower lip; she had been worried about Cef recently. He looked so depressed all the time, like he had the entire world on his shoulders, and he was only twelve. It just can't be healthy, she thought, children as young as him shouldn't be so depressed, especially for no apparent reason. When Cef didn't answer for almost a minute, Aeris sighed. Finally, Cef said:

"It's where I lived with my mother. Our house was in sector three, I want to collect anything that's important," and stay away from my old neighbors, Cef added silently to himself. They got to where they were going, and Cef led them to where his house should be, and finally they found it. A small dirty tin square with a triangular roof, and a gaping hole in the roof.

"It doesn't look like it survived the years well," Tifa said.

"No, it did." Cef said glumly. "Actually might look a little better," he said before opening the door.

"Well look who it is," a voice said from behind them. The voice was young and arrogant, and had a tone that said "I'm better than you, now get out of my face." Cef turned around. About five boys, who all appeared to be around sixteen were standing there. "I'm surprised you'd show your face here again." The boy standing in the middle of the group said. That one appeared to be the leader of the group.

"I haven't done anything." Cef said. He looked like he wanted to kill the group of boys, but he controlled himself.

"How come the devil's whore isn't with you," one of the boys snickered. Cef was on top of him in an instant, all self control lost.

"HOW DARE YOU!" Cef screamed. The boy was on the ground, lying on his back. Cef was kneeling on top of him, dealing repeated punches to his face. "HOW DARE YOU EVEN SPEAK OF HER!" Cef screamed. "I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU!" Finally, Cloud and Tifa were able to pull Cef off the bloody boy. "LET ME GO!" Cef yelled, struggling to break free of Cloud and Tifas' grips. He kicked Cloud painfully in the shin, elbowed Tifa in the stomach, but they still held on to him. Finally, Aeris got in front of Cef to stop him.

"Cef, stop." Cef ignored her, even lashed out at her, but she didn't move. "Cef, stop, right now." Cef continued thrashing, finally Aeris grabbed his head, turned his head until he was looking her in the eye, and shouted "Cef! I told you to stop!" Finally, Cef began to calm down.

"But," Cef began, "you heard what he called my mother."

"Yes, but that doesn't justify what _you_ did." Aeris said. "You think it doesn't make _me_ mad that he called _our_ mother that?"

"I'm guessing that's one of the horrible names people thought up for your mother you told me about?" Tifa asked. Cloud and Tifa let Cef down, and the boys began to advance towards Cef.

"You think you can go around maiming people, just like your father?" Cef delivered a roundhouse kick to the boy's head that knocked him off his feet.

"Hey, ummm," one of the boys said, "is it just me or does he know how to fight now?"

"You tell me!" Cef said. He jumped in the air and delivered a sidekick that caught the boy in the chest, knocking him back into the remaining two boys, and all three of them tumbled to the ground. At this point, the boy who had been round housed got back to his feet.

"I'll get you, you little bastard!" the boy called out, advancing on Cef with a fist raised. Then, another voice was heard.

"Can't you bullies just leave him alone?" It was a girl's voice who said it. Her voice was very high, and after she spoke Cef said:

"I remember that voice." He pushed aside the boy who had been advancing on him and saw a girl standing there. She was wearing a bright blue T-shirt, a frilled yellow knee-length skirt, had long blond hair that reached her waist, and had some of the bluest eyes the people there had ever seen. "Cara! It's so good to see you!" Aeris and Tifa began to whisper and giggle to themselves, but Cef ignored them and ran to the girl Cara who appeared to be around the same age as him. Cef embraced her with a big hug, and she hugged him back.

"And who's this?" Aeris asked with a playful tone in her voice.

"I haven't introduced you yet, have I Cara? Well people, this is Cara, one of the only people, if not the only person who actually treated me and my mother like people." Cef was smiling more now than Aeris had ever seen. It was incredible. Just the appearance of this girl seemed to remove the huge burden Cef had been carrying around less than an hour ago. "Oh Cara, you have no idea how much I missed you over the years. So, have you had any luck with the-"

"No, people only want babies." Cara said, looking glum.

"I'm sorry but," Cloud said, "did we miss something?"

"I'm an orphan, and I want to be adopted, but like I said, people are only interested in little babies." Cara said. She sighed deeply, and Aeris found herself feeling sorry for the girl. She whispered something into Cloud's ear, and Cloud turned to her and said:

"Are you serious?" Cloud looked extremely surprised.

"Of course!" Aeris said. "You and I could pretend to be married, and then _we _could adopt Cara, and take her on the Highwind 3. Besides, she seems to have a positive influence on Cef's emotional behavior, don't you think?"

"Wait a minute," Cef said. "If you, my sister, adopted Cara, wouldn't that would make me Cara's uncle?"

"Don't I get a say in this?" Cara said. "I mean, I don't even know these people and I thi- did you say your _sister_?"

"Of course," Cef said. "And that's an answer to both your questions."

"Well, I guess she does sort of look like Ifalna, which reminds me, how is Ifalna doing?" Cara said. Cef looked down, and his eyes began to fog up with tears.

"Four years ago, when Meteor fell, she d-d-died." Cef said.

Cara wrapped an arm around him and said "I'm sorry, I didn't know. If there's anything I can do to help, just tell me, okay?"

"Thanks, and I will." Cef said.

"Also, I don't think you two would have to pretend you're married to adopt me," Cara said, looking at Cloud and Aeris, "the people at the orphanage wouldn't even notice if one kid in the dozens that are there went missing, and if they did notice, they probably wouldn't care. And besides, a single person can adopt a child too, if they've been approved. And I think they would approve Cloud Strife."

"How did you know who I was?" Cloud asked.

"You were the topic of a lot of news for a while." Cara said. "So are we going to leave, or what?"

"You're right, we should leave." Cef said. "But just hold one minute." Cef ran inside his house, and came back about a minute later holding a book.

"What's that Cef?" Cara asked.

"It's a photo album." Cef said, flicking through the pages. He stopped at a certain page. One of the pictures on that page showed Sephiroth and Ifalna holding a small chubby baby with thin silver hair on his head. They were in front of a fountain, smiling, looking happy. Cef could not believe how happy she looked with him, or how happy _he_ looked with him. He closed the book, and said to the others, "Come on, we should hurry, or Cid'll leave without us. The five of them walked towards the train station, boarded a train, and soon were climbing up the ramp to the airship. Cara was excited she was finally getting a home and something that resembles a family, and Cef felt happier than he had in a long time.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Cef's Big Night

A week after Cara had come aboard the ship, she and Cef were sitting on the deck of the Highwind 3, playing a game of poker. After six hands of Cef winning, Cara threw her cards down in frustration.

"I suck at this game," she sulked.

"You realize that it mostly luck, right?" Cef said.

"Then why do you keep winning?" she asked.

"Maybe I'm lucky, maybe I know when to trade in the right cards, or maybe I stacked the deck, who knows," Cef teased.

"Did you really stack the deck?" Cara exclaimed. She grabbed the cards out of Cef's hands and looked through them. After being assured that they were properly shuffled, she handed them back to them. "Hmph, I'm going inside for a drink," she said grumpily as she stood up and walked off.

"Leave me with a mess to clean up," Cef sighed after Cara had gone inside. Inside Aeris's room, Aeris and Tifa were watching the two of through one of the portholes.

"I don't like the two of them spending so much time together," Aeris said.

"Oh come on, I think it's cute," Tifa giggled, "You're so over protective, you should lighten up."

"But what if he starts to get romantic with her, then they have a fight and end up hating each other, but they have to live in the same place? Cef will be miserable, and Cara will be angry and-"

"Let me stop you there," Tifa interrupted, "First of all, Cef and Cara are only twelve years old. That's a little young to be getting 'romantic' with each other, especially with a sister as sheltering as you. And even if they do, I highly doubt that they'll have a fight and end up hating each other for the rest of their lives."

"Why do you think that?" Aeris asked.

"Because of how good friends they are. Cara's an orphan, so she's probably been lonely the majority of her life and wouldn't risk losing a friend as good as Cef, and Cef just doesn't have many friends."

"Are you calling my brother some sort of social reject?" Aeris exclaimed.

"Yes," Tifa smirked, "He's cold, brutally honest, has a freakish hair color, and has magazines hidden under his mattress."

"WHAT?" Aeris shrieked. She bolted out of the room, and a minute later came back with an angry look on her face. "You didn't say they were "Sword Collector's Monthly" magazines."

"See, you're paranoid," Tifa said while trying to stifle her laughs.

"You'd react the same way if you were in my place." Aeris sulked.

"Come on, everyone knows that boys nowadays use computers to satisfy those urges."

"Ha ha, very funny," Aeris said sarcastically.

"Hey, Cara's back outside," Tifa said looking out through the porthole. She was almost knocked over by Aeris running to the small window to see. Outside, Cef and Cara were leaning on the guard rail, talking.

"So Cef," Cara said, "Do you like your sister?"

"Yes. She reminds me of my mother." Cef answered. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I don't think she likes me." Cara said as she smoothed out a wrinkle in her skirt.

"Nonsense, who couldn't like you?" Cef said. "Aeris is just a little paranoid."

"About what?"

"Everything. She didn't even want me to enter that tournament at the Gold Saucer."

"You mean the one that Tifa whooped you in?" Cara giggled.

"I only lost because I wanted to save my mother's locket."

"From what I hear she was winning anyways."

"Getting off the subject," Cef said. The two of them said nothing for a while, but Cara broke the silence.

"This airship is nice, you can see so much of the world in so short a time." Cara said.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, I mean I've never been out of Midgar until a week ago, and I've already seen so much of the world. The only thing that would make it better is if we could land to see the places we pass over."

"Well there's no reason we can't. Where do you want to go?"

"Well, I hear Cosmo Canyon is a really pretty place. Let's go there, just the two of us." Cara said as she put her hand on Cef's that was on the railing.

"O-ok," Cef stuttered nervously. Cara giggled a little and smiled at Cef, who walked over to the comm. system and said "Cid, could you take the ship to Cosmo Canyon?"

"Cosmo Canyon?" Cid shouted through the speakers. "That's on the other side of the goddamn world! It'd take at least a day to get there!"

"Please," Cef said into the comm. system.

"Fine, by tomorrow, you and your little girlfriend will be in Cosmo Canyon."

"She's not my girlfriend!" Cef shouted back.

"That's what they all say," Cid said. Cef turned back to Cara, who had her arms behind her and was staring awkwardly at Cef.

"So," Cef said nervously, "Are you happy? You'll get to see Cosmo Canyon."

"Yes," she said, "I'm very happy. Thank you." she hugged him and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. Cara ran back to the interior of the ship, and inside Aeris's room Tifa and Aeris were continuing their debate.

"She how happy she makes him?" Tifa said.

"Cef's too young to go on a date, I won't allow it." Aeris said.

"You should tell him that, see how he takes it." Tifa said back. "Look at him, it's obvious to everyone that Cara is the only person on this planet that can make Cef happy. And if that's not enough for you, we can have Red XIII chaperone them. Would that put your mind at ease?"

"No," Aeris sulked, "I still think he's too young to go on a date."

"Let me ask you something." Tifa said. "When did you first start dating Zack?" Aeris hesitated before answering.

"When I was fourteen."

"And how old was he?"

"A year older than me."

"And how did Elmyra take it that her fourteen year old daughter was dating a fifteen year old SOLDIER?"

"Badly. She wanted to keep me in the house."

"And how did it feel to have another person judging your love life based on trivial things like age?" After more hesitating, Aeris answered.

"Really bad. And embarrassing."

"And is that how you want your brother to feel? Sad and embarrassed?"

"No, but I'm just trying to protect him."

"From what?"

"From, from, oh I don't know."

"Exactly. You are just paranoid, and like I said earlier, you need to lighten up."

"But what if he gets hurt?"

"Cef's the most mature twelve year old I've ever met, he'll find a way back to his feet."

"You think so?"

"I know so."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Cef's Big Night!

Cef had been feeling nervous for the entire day, which was made worse by the fact that they weren't even in the Cosmo Canyon area until evening, so he had to wait for the entire day. Finally, when Cid said they would be there in half an hour, Cef went into his room to get ready.

"How're you doing?" someone said. Cef looked and Cloud was standing in his doorway.

"Well I don't think I've ever been this nervous," Cef answered.

"That's normal," Cloud answered. "Do you need some help getting ready?"

"I don't even know what to wear," Cef said.

"Let me help you a bit," Cloud said as he closed the door behind him. "First off, you should definitely wear something nice, a tuxedo would probably be too much, but the sleeveless shirts that you normally wear would look really bad."

"So what do I wear?"

"Hmm, let's see what you've got." Cloud looked through Cef's closet, shuffling things around. Finally, he pulled out two items of clothing. "What about these?" Cloud said. He was holding a black suit jacket and dress pants.

"Won't I need a shirt?" Cef asked.

"Just wear one of your normal shirts, it'll match."

"And a tie?"

"A tie's pushing tuxedo."

"Right, no tie," Cef said. "Well, give me a minute to get dressed."

"Of course," Cloud said. He handed the clothes to Cef and walked out the door. Five minutes later, Cef called him back in.

"So how do I look?" Cef asked.

"Well, shoes would help, and you should do something about your hair."

"What's wrong with my hair?"

"Just comb it, I'll look for some shoes that would work," Cloud said. Cloud looked around at the bottom of Cef's closet. While he was bent over Cef snuck something into his inside coat pocket and Cloud came back holding a pair of dress shoes.

"How're these?" Cloud asked.

"They're fine, but I don't have any money." Cef said.

"Well you'll need money if you plan to do anything but stand there. Tell ya what, I'll give you some money." Cloud reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of bills. He counted through them for a minute, then pulled quite a few out and gave them to Cef.

"How much is this?" Cef asked.

"Two thousand Gil, that should be enough, right?" Cloud said.

"It should be more than enough, now what about my hair?" Cef asked.

"Your hair looks better than it usually does, do you comb it at all?"

"Do you comb yours?" Cloud looked up at his wild hair and said:

"Good point. Well put your shoes on and you'll be ready. And leave your swords here," Cloud said as he noticed Cef putting one of his katanas inside his jacket.

"But what if something happens?"

"Cosmo Canyon is one of the most peaceful places on the planet, I don't think anything's going to happen."

"It's better to be prepared."

"It could also blow the whole night."

"Really?"

"Yes, trust me, I know."

"How?"

"Well, a few years back I had a date with a woman, I was feeling paranoid that day and decided to take my sword with me, and in short she ended up hating me and I had to pay the restaurant for a new table."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it was a bad night."

"So I should leave them here?"

"Yes, trust me."

"Okay, but if anything happens I'm cursing you to hell."

"Fair enough."

"Alright, am I ready?" Cef asked.

"Hair combed, shoes, shirt, pants, yeah I'd say you're ready," Cloud answered.

"Good, now what?"

"Now go wait by the exit for her."

"Right, thanks." Cef ran out of the room and Cloud sat down on Cef's bed.

"Cef looked good," Tifa said. "You did a good job." She walked into the room and sat down on the bed next to Cloud.

"What about Cara?" Cloud asked.

"I don't know, Aeris is helping her get ready, which is a surprise because Aeris is against this whole night."

"Aeris would do anything for someone she cared about, even if she was against it."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

In the hallway, Cef was standing around nervously waiting for Cara. After what seemed like an eternity, the door to her room opened. She was wearing a black floor-length dress that had spaghetti straps to hold it up, she was wearing makeup that made her face seem one hundred times more beautiful to Cef and her normally straight hair was now wavy.

"How do I look?" Cara asked.

"You look beautiful," Cef said, almost in a trance.

"You really think so?" Cara asked, looking down at herself.

"You look better than anything I've ever seen in my life," Cef reassured her.

"Well then, we should get going, right?" Cara said.

"Yeah, that would probably be good."

"Awrigh', we're at Cosmo Canyon," Cid shouted through the comm. system. The Highwind 3's ramp door opened, revealing a beautiful sunset. The sky was orange and had gold streaks running through it. The clouds were pink and the ones near the sun were purple.

"It's beautiful," Cara said, "Just like I knew it would be."

"I can think of one thing more beautiful than the sunset," Cef said, gazing at Cara.

"Oh please," she said. "Let's just go." Cloud, Aeris and Tifa watched them go.

"You called Red XIII and told him to watch over them, right?" Aeris asked.

"Yes, don't worry," Cloud said as Cef and Cara walked down the ramp and went into the town.

"So what are we supposed to do now?" Cara asked when the ramp door had closed behind them.

"I know of a nice restaurant here, would you like to get something to eat?" Cef said.

"Sure, that'd be nice." Cara said.

"Great, follow me," Cef said. He led her to a small building in the town. As they approached the restaurant Cara could smell all kinds of delicious foods coming from the windows. When they reached the building Cef opened the door for Cara.

"Thank you," Cara said as she stepped through the door. Inside, they were greeted by a man wearing an expensive-looking uniform.

"Hello, would you two like a table?" The man asked.

"Yes, thank you," Cef said. The man led the two of them to a small table with a chair on either side. When the two of them were seated, the man spoke again.

"Here are some menus," the man said as he handed them two laminated pamphlets covered in pictures of delicious looking foods. "Your server should be here soon," the man said before walking off. Later, after they had already received their food, Cef found himself so nervous he could barely touch his food.

"Cef aren't you going to eat?" Cara asked when she noticed Cef staring uncomfortably down at his plate of food.

"Yeah, probably," Cef answered. He pushed some of the food around with his fork then picked some of it up onto his fork and ate the bite.

"You look nervous," Cara said.

"So?" Cef responded.

"Don't be, we've known each other for almost our entire lives, I want you to be perfectly comfortable around me."

"It's not you, it's just, I don't know." Cef said glumly.

"Come on, you should try to loosen up, have a little more fun, it's good for you," Cara said cheerfully.

"I'll try," Cef said. After a half hour of silence, Cara spoke.

"So Cef, why did you go back to Midgar after four years of being away?" she asked.

"After a, shall we say, emotional conversation with Tifa about my past, I started thinking about my old home, and Cid said we getting near Midgar, so I told him to stop at the city," Cef said.

"So it had nothing to do with me?" Cara said.

"Actually, you were one of the reasons I decided to go back. I really had no other reason besides getting some things from my old house." Cef answered.

"Okay, so what do you want to do after dinner?" Cara asked.

"How about we look at some of the scenery?" Cef suggested.

"At night?" Cara said.

"Why not?" Cef said.

"All right, I guess that could be nice." The two of them talked and ate for almost another hour, and afterwards Cef left the Gil that they owed the restaurant and an extra fifty for the waiter.

"What piece of beautiful scenery should we look at first?" Cara asked.

"How about we go on top of the observatory mountain and look at the mountains around the area?" Cef suggested.

"Yeah, the views great," a voice said from behind them. Instinctively Cef put his arm around Cara and spun around putting himself between Cara and the person who had snuck up on them. Unfortunately, it wasn't just one person, it was more like seven or eight large men that seemed to be holding something inside their sleeves.

---

On top of the mountain that held the observatory, Red XIII watched Cef and Cara leave the restaurant.

"All right Red, how're they doing?" Cloud asked through the phone.

"Their fine so far, they just left the restaurant. But Cloud, how are you affiliated with these kids? I saw the boy at the tournament, but the girl is a complete stranger to me," Red XIII asked.

"Just consider the boy kind of like my nephew, so you're saying everything's been alright so far?"

"Yes, their if- uh-oh," Red XIII said.

"Uh-oh what?" Cloud asked.

"A group of men is coming up behind them. I know these guys, their trouble, and have been suspects in more than one felony. I should try to get down there." Red XIII said urgently.

"Right, you do that," Cloud said before he cut the line. Red XIII began running down the stairs into the inner part of the mountain.

---

"Leave us alone," Cef commanded in the steadiest voice he could summon.

"Or you'll what?" The man in the center of the group said as he pulled a nasty looking knife from inside his sleeve. The others in the group all also pulled out knives and Cara, who was looking over Cef's shoulder, let out a small scream of terror.

"I'm warning you, I am an excellent fighter," Cef said.

"Oh yeah, the son of the great Sephiroth, I've heard of you. You were in that tournament at the Gold Saucer, weren't you. You lost to that bitch who was dressed like a hooker, right?" After the man said this, all the others in his group started laughing and shouted things like "Ha, that punk lost to a girl," or "What a wuss, he probably thinks his daddy will come and save him." Cef began to get angry.

"I'll give you money, if that's what you want," Cef said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the remainder of the Gil that Cloud had given him.

"Thanks, we'll know where to look on your dead body to get some extra cash, but what we really want is the girl," the man said. Cef looked back at Cara who ducked even lower behind him.

"Please, just leave us alone," Cara begged as tears streamed down her face.

"Aw come on, it'll be fun. We promise you'll have a good time, little girly," One of the men said. "Just come with us."

"No, I know what you want, and I'm not going anywhere with you," Cara said defiantly.

"This is your last chance, leave now or I'll be forced to hurt you," Cef said.

"Like you could," One of the men said. That man thrusted his knife out at Cef's chest and Cef jumped back, pushing Cara back with him.

"That's it, I warned you. Cara don't look." Cef said as he reached into his coat. Cara stared at him, wondering what he was going to do.

"What, are you going to pull out one of those toy swords you had at that stupid tournament?" One of the men said. They all started laughing, but their laughter was cut short when they found themselves staring down the barrel of a nine millimeter semi-automatic handgun.

"Yeah, that's right," Cef said. Cara realized why Cef had told her not to look and ran into an alley between two buildings. The men all immediately dropped their knives and were about to run, however when they turned around, a large, red, cat-like animal with tribal jewelry in it's mane and markings burned into it's fur stopped them.

"Where are you going to run?" Red XIII asked in his usual level-headed voice.

"Umm, that crazy boy pointed a gun at us! Stop him, help us!" One of the men said.

"Don't even try that with me. Leave town now, or I'm going to let him have you." Red XIII said.

"Come on, you can't do that," One of the men said. Red XIII roared as loud as he could and all the men scattered and ran towards the town's exit.

"Thanks," Cef said.

"Don't mention it, Cloud told me to make sure nothing happened to you two. If you ever need me again, just call. Also, I wouldn't let anyone see you with that gun. People here aren't very fond of weapons."

"Right, I'll keep that in mind," Cef said as he put the gun back into his pocket. "Cara?" Cef called out as he walked into the alley that she had ran into. "Are you alright? Those men are gone, thanks to Re-" however that particular sentence was cut short due to the fact that his mouth quickly became preoccupied with Cara's when she ran out and kissed him full on the lips. Cef was shocked at first, but eventually began to kiss her back, wrapping his arms around her slim frame. Cara broke away from the kiss and leaned back in Cef's arms.

"What was that for?" Cef asked.

"I love you," she said. "I've always loved you, I just realized it now. You knew you were stronger than those men, and you had the gun, but you were doing everything you could to avoid hurting them because you're sweet and gentle, and you were doing it all to protect me, and I realized that if I was going to die, when I do die, I want to be with you when it happens. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Cef."

"Really?" Cef asked.

"Of course, why wouldn't I? You're smart, funny, handsome, strong, caring, and sensitive. You're pretty much perfect in every way." Cara said.

"You really think so?" Cef asked.

"Why wouldn't I? Have I ever lied to you before?" Cara said.

"Well, I suppose we should be getting back to the ship," Cef said.

"Wait," Cara said.

"What?" Cef asked. His question was answered when Cara grabbed his head and kissed him again. That kiss lasted over a minute, and when it finally ended, Cef and Cara walked hand in hand back to the Highwind 3.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: The Nightmares Will Come

Cef was in his bedroom as Cloud was helping him get ready.

"I'll look for some shoes that would work," Cloud said. When Cloud was digging around in Cef's closet, Cef began to put a gun in his jacket's pocket, but decided not to. All of a sudden, Cef was outside. It was night time, Cara was crouching behind Cef and a group of large men were in front of Cef. Cef reached into his pocket and found nothing. One of the men stabbed Cef, his shirt darkened as blood poured out of his chest and he fell to the ground. The last thing he saw was Cara's clothes being torn off her body.

And then he woke up. Drenched in sweat and breathing heavily, Cef laid in a daze for a few moments, but when he realized it was only a dream he rested his head back on his pillow. However, the side of his head was pressed against something hard, round, smooth, and slightly scratchy. He looked. It appeared to be an assortment of very thin bright yellow strings. Closer analysis revealed it to be hair. Long hair, that went nearly halfway down the bed, a lot of it resting on his torso. In his half-asleep phase, Cef couldn't figure as to why there was bright blonde hair on his bed, until he saw that it was attached to Cara's head, which was on his shoulder.

Cara deep red lips were in a small smile, her arms were wrapped around Cef's left one, and one of her legs was laying over Cef's. Cef struggled to remember why Cara was in his bed, and finally he remembered that after their date, Cef invited Cara to look at the photo album he found at his old house, and they must've fallen asleep. The photo album was still on the floor next to the bed.

Cef pulled free out of Cara's grip, pulled his shoes, pants, and jacket off, put on a pair of shorts he slept in, and put the photo album on the desk in his room. He then picked Cara up, careful not to wake her while doing so, and carried her to her room. When Cef laid Cara down on her bed, she didn't let go of his arm, and when pulling free didn't do any good Cef took the teddy bear on her bed and slipped it into her hands so she hugged that instead. Cef pulled the blankets up to her chin and gave her one last look before closing the door and going back to his room.

---

The next day, Cef sat at the table in the dining hall, staring at his plate of food.

"You okay Cef?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah, I just didn't sleep well," Cef said.

"If you want I could give you sleeping pills," Cloud said.

"No, it's okay," Cef said. He stabbed some of the eggs on his plate with his fork, but decided he didn't have an appetite, put the fork on the plate, put the plate in front of Cara, who was sitting next to him, said "Here, I'm not hungry," stood up and left. As Cef was trudging back to his room, Cara ran out of the dining hall and called after him.

"Cef, wait!" she yelled.

"What?" Cef said.

"Are you alright? You seem upset," she said.

"I'm fine," Cef answered.

"Really? Because you're not acting fine."

"I'm just tired because I didn't sleep well," Cef said.

"Are you sure? Because I'll do anything for you that you think will help." Cara walked up and put her hands on Cef's shoulders before kissing him on the lips. "And I mean anything."

"I don't need anything, just let me rest for an hour and I'll be fine," Cef said as he broke free of her grasp and walked to his room.

An hour and a half later, Cara cautiously opened Cef's door. The lights were off and the window was closed, making it very dark. Cef was turned on his side, his back to the door, not making a sound. Cara sat down on the foot of Cef's bed and put her hand on his foot.

"What," Cef said.

"Did you get any sleep?" Cara asked.

"No," Cef said, "But I did get to stay awake for over an hour worrying."

"Worrying about what?" Cara asked.

"You," Cef said.

"I'm fine, you need rest," Cara said.

"I know you're fine, but-" Cef cut off.

"But what," Cara asked. After that, Cef turned around to face her, grabbed her hand and pulled her down, catching her and giving her a deep passionate kiss.

"I never want to lose you," Cef said, "I don't want anything to happen to you. I want to be with you forever."

"Why are you worried about that?" Cara asked.

"I'm not worried about that, its just-ahh,"

"What?" Cara asked.

"Last night I had a nightmare about what would've happened if I didn't take that gun on our date. I never want that nightmare to come true. And I'll do everything I can to make sure it doesn't." Cara kissed him on the cheek and laid down on the bed next to him.

"I promise you it never will."

"I know, but it," Cef paused for a moment, gathering his words, "It scares me. This world is a terrible place, and there are plenty more people like the ones we saw in Cosmo Canyon, and it frightens me to think what could happen."

"There are a lot of bad people," Cara said, "But there will always be good people like you to stop them." Outside Cef's room, Aeris and Tifa were standing on either side of the door, listening to the conversation. Cara walked out of the room and the two of them quickly tried to cover up the fact that they had been eaves dropping. Cara eyed them for a moment, closed the door and walked off. After Cara had gone into her room, Aeris and Tifa began talking.

"I don't like them being together like this," Aeris said.

"And I think you're much too paranoid," Tifa answered. "There's nothing wrong with them kissing and Cef's to responsible and mature too let it go any farther."

"You'd be saying the same thing if you were in my shoes," Aeris said.

"So? That doesn't change the fact that you're paranoid. Cef and Cara's relationship is perfectly innocent, and I think it's kind of cute. You should lighten up."

"I just don't want to see him get hurt," Aeris said, "Cef keeps everything bottled up inside him, and something like this could be very unhealthy."

"That's true, Cef isn't very good at healthily expressing his emotions, but at least he has a loving sister who would comfort him at a time like that,"

"Why would I have to comfort him? I don't like him being with Cara," Aeris argued.

"Because I had to comfort him a few weeks ago. I'm not sure what about, but he cried on my shoulder a lot."

"You were comforting me," Cef said from behind them, "About the fact that I had a breakdown from talking about my deceased mother. I've told you two before you shouldn't meddle in other people's business, but you just don't seem to get it."

"Cef I just don't want to see you get hurt, you have to understand that," Aeris said.

"I've been hurt before, I can handle it. What I can't handle is you judging my relationship with Cara," Cef replied.

"But Cef I-"

"Save it," Cef said as he cut her off, "I'm going to go train on the deck." Cef pushed past her and went up the staircase to the deck, slamming the door to the airlock with a loud bang.

"Great," Aeris said sarcastically after Cef had slammed the door shut.

"I told you not to be so paranoid about them," Tifa said.

"I don't need that right now. I need to go apologize to Cef," Aeris said. But when she tried to walk away Tifa stopped her.

"I think you should let Cef cool off for a while. He seemed pretty angry," Tifa said.

"So how long should I wait to talk to him?" Aeris asked.

"Give him a few hours, hopefully he'll have calmed down by then."

"You think I should wait that long?" Aeris asked.

"Cef's emotional. The best thing would wait and see if he comes to you," Tifa answered.

---

Up on the deck, Cef's training was really more him angrily swinging his swords around and muttering to himself about how everything made him angry. He stopped when he heard the airlock door open.

"Cef?" Cara said.

"What is it?" Cef answered.

"I was just wondering if you were alright. Aeris is just worried about you, there was no reason to get mad at her like that," Cara said.

"Well she shouldn't try to meddle in my life," Cef responded.

"She's your sister, she loves you," Cara said. She turned away from Cef and said solemnly, "At least you have a sister."

"I know, but still, I would say the same thing to anyone," Cef said.

"Even to me?" Cara said.

"Maybe, if you were passing judgement on our relationship," Cef answered.

"But Aeris wasn't judging us, she was worrying about you. There's a big difference."

"Well, yeah but she-, she still shouldn't-, oh crap," Cef said, "I should go apologize, shouldn't I?"

"Yes, I'll wait here until you're done," Cara said.

"Love you, thanks, be right back," Cef said, then he kissed her on the cheek and ran down to the inner part of the ship.

Inside the ship Aeris was going to her room when Cef called to her.

"Aeris, wait!" Cef yelled.

"Yes Cef?" Aeris answered.

"I'm sorry about how I acted earlier, I know you were just worrying about me, and, well, I'm sorry," Cef said. Aeris got on her knees so she was at eye level with Cef, kissed him on his forehead and answered.

"I forgive you, and I'll try to stay out of your business."

"Thanks, I love you," Cef said. He hugged Aeris and ran back up the stairs to the deck. Aeris smiled after him and went back to her room.

---

Late that night, Cef was in his bed, turning over in his sleep. Another nightmare plagued his mind. In this one, he saw his father standing in a great vortex of green fire with the Masamune in his hand.

"Traitor!" Sephiroth shouted. Cef ran forward and clashed his swords with Sephiroth's. The two of them held this for a minute, but Sephiroth was strong enough to knock Cef flat on his back.

"You're weak. You were always weak. You couldn't save your mother, and you can't save your sister," Sephiroth said. He twirled his sword around so that he was holding it upside down and thrust to his left side, where Aeris was now standing.

"No!" Cef screamed. He charged forward, bringing his swords up to block. They clashed with the Masamune and Sephiroth knocked Cef away. Cef went spinning and one of his swords cut into Aeris's stomach.

"How could you?" Aeris said. She dropped to the ground and Cef ran over to her, kneeling down and checking her body. When Cef reached out his hand and touched her, Aeris changed into what looked like a mutated angel, with sickly green skin and twisted featherless wings. It flew up into the air and enveloped everything in darkness.

Cef woke up covered in sweat for the second night in a row. He turned to see if Cara would be there to comfort him again, but his bed was empty save for him. One of her beautiful golden hairs remained on his pillow, but that was all. Cef rolled over and tried to go back to sleep, hoping that he wouldn't waken to another nightmare.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Simple Emotions

Cef shot up in his bed at 4:33 in the morning, drenched in sweat from another of his nightmares. A hand reached out and pressed against his chest, pushing him, causing him to lay down back on his bed. Cef stared up to find Cara looking down at him with her big, blue eyes. Cef's troublesome nightmares had been going on for over two weeks. Cara would always be woken up at around 4:30 from thrashing noises coming from Cef's room, which were Cef rolling and twisting in his nightmares. At around 4:45, the thrashing would stop, indicating that Cef had woken up. After about a week, Cara learned to set her alarm for 4:20 so she could go to Cef's room and be there to comfort him the moment he woke up.

"Thanks," Cef whispered.

"What was it this time?" Cara asked.

"The same as always, my father appeared, called me weak, and either you or Aeris ended up dying," Cef said solemnly as he turned his head to the side to avoid Cara.

"Who was it?" Cara asked, putting her hand on Cef's shoulder, urging him to turn and face her. After a moment, Cef answered.

"You. I was in that strange place with the green-fire-stuff, my father threw some fireball thing at me and I blocked it with one of my swords, but it got redirected to you, so I jumped to save you, it exploded and killed both of us," Cef said as his eyes started watering.

"It was only a dream," Cara said.

"I know, but it just, it feels so real, I can't stand it!" Cef said loudly as he stood up from the bed on the opposite side from Cara.

"Come on, don't be like that," Cara said gently. She crawled over the bed and got up next to Cef, kissed him on the cheek, and sat down next to him on the bed. "I know that nightmares are scary, but you should try to confront them or else they'll never go away."

"It's not that they scare me, I can't stand them because-" Cef stopped talking, sighed, and looked at the ground.

"What is it?" Cara asked as she put a hand on Cef's shoulder and pulled him back onto the bed.

"Everything I've done has been for you and Aeris. I spent four years searching for her, held off those criminals at Cosmo Canyon to protect you, I even reversed death, I do everything for you two, I love you more than anything in the world, and I couldn't stand to see you hurt, but that's all these dreams show."

Cef said.

"I know, it must be so tormenting," Cara said while stroking Cef's hair. She had always been envious of Cef's hair, it had a reflective surface that caught the light and shimmered like water and was the prettiest hair she had ever seen.

"'Tormenting' is putting it lightly," Cef said.

"You know I'm always here for you," Cara said, wrapping one arm around Cef's shoulders.

"I know," Cef responded, turning around and kissing her on the lips. Cef and Cara laid back down on the bed while continuing their kiss. They broke away from each other and stared into each other's eyes. Cef brushed some of Cara's hair out of her face and moved his hand around to her back. Cara wrapped one of arms under and around Cef's shoulder and drew them closer to each other.

"I'll always be here for you, don't ever forget that," Cara whispered into Cef's ear as she rested her head on his shoulder. The two of them closed their eyes and Cef moved his arm down to where the blanket had been pushed back, grabbed it and pulled it up to near their shoulders. The two fell asleep in each other's arms.

A few minutes earlier, Aeris had been walking to the ship's kitchen to get a glass of water after waking up in the middle of the night. As she was walking back to her room, she passed Cef's door and heard some voices coming from inside. She peeked inside the open door just as Cara was pulling Cef back into the bed.

"Little tramp," Aeris said with an angry look on her face. She stayed there, watching their conversation. Aeris was practically in shock when they fell asleep together. Aeris was about to charge into the room and separate them when a hand grabbed her forearm. She turned around to see Tifa in a night-gown that barely covered her gripping Aeris's arm.

"They're not going to do anything," Tifa said, "All you going in there would do is make them dislike you."

"So what if Cef hates me? I should stop them from doing something they'll regret later!" Aeris said, fruitlessly struggling to break free of Tifa's grasp.

"Like what?" Tifa said, "Hugging? Kissing? Sleeping in the same bed for one night? What do you think they're going to do? Wait, I know what you think they're going to do, and I can tell you right now that Cef's way to mature to do anything that stupid."

"He's my brother, I care about him," Aeris said.

"If you cared about him you'd trust him to make the right choice," Tifa grunted. Aeris was getting harder to keep under control.

At these words, Aeris stopped struggling and looked somberly at the ground.

"I know that Cef wouldn't do anything like that, but what if he does?" Aeris muttered.

"Well, Cef has so many bottled up emotions that afterwards he'd probably spend an hour crying and Cara wouldn't want to go there again," Tifa said with a smile.

"That's not funny," Aeris said scornfully.

"Lighten up, besides, they're already asleep," Tifa said, nodding in the direction of Cef's room. Aeris turned around and sure enough, the two were asleep.

"Fine," Aeris grumbled, "You win. But if they do ANYTHING, I'm blaming you."

"Fair enough," Tifa said.

---

Cara woke up in the morning with her head in a fair amount of pain. Apparently she had slept on something harder than her pillow. She opened her eyes to see a black shirt and a skin colored lump coming out of it. Apparently this lump was a shoulder, connected to a neck, which led to Cef's head. The events of the previous night came back to her and she sat up in the bed supporting herself on her arms. She looked down at Cef and smiled. He looked like a little kid, sleeping with a slight smile on his face. Cef's eyes slightly opened and he looked up at her.

"Good morning," Cara said.

"You too," Cef answered.

"Well?" Cara inquired.

"No nightmares this time," Cef said happily, "Whatever wanted me to suffer in my sleep gave me a break."

"Good," Cara said as she stroked Cef's hair, "Maybe they'll be gone for good."

"What time is it?" Cef asked through a yawn. Cara looked at the clock on the bedside table to get her answer.

"6:30," Cara said, this information making her feel a little more tired.

"Lay back down, we've only been sleeping for one and a half hours," Cef said as he closed his eyes, grabbing Cara's shoulder and trying to pull her down to him.

"Maybe I should go back to my bed," Cara said.

"No, I like you here," Cef said, "You're warm."

"You have a blanket," Cara said, giggling.

"You're warm," Cef repeated.

"Fine," Cara said, "I'll lay back down with you." Cara laid down on the bed so that her head was facing Cef's, who opened his eyes and looked into hers. Cef gave Cara a small kiss on the lips and said quietly:

"I love you."

"I love you too," Cara answered. Cef wrapped his arms around her slender frame and held her close while Cara merely laid there, letting him hold her with her head on his shoulder. An hour later, an automated notice informing the passengers on the ship that breakfast was being served woke them up.

The two of them went into the dining hall, ate breakfast, and went back into Cef's room. Once inside, Cara began brushing her hair while looking in the mirror in the room while Cef sat down on his bed and began polishing one of his swords. When Cara finished (which took a surprisingly long time by Cef's standards) she turned to Cef and began speaking.

"Hey Cef," she said.

"Yeah?" Cef answered, looking up from his sword at her.

"Umm," Cara stalled.

"What is it?" Cef asked her.

"Can you, um, teach me how to fight?" Cara requested.

"Of course I can, but why do you want to learn how to fight?" Cef asked.

"Well, you're getting all these bad dreams about me getting hurt, and I thought that if I could protect myself, it would help the dreams go away," Cara said.

"Well thanks, but, if I were to teach you how to fight, it'd be long and hard," Cef said, "Are you sure that's what you want?"

"Of course!" Cara said happily, "If you taught me how to fight, we could be perfectly in sync! Wouldn't that be fun?"

"First lesson, fighting's not supposed to be fun," Cef said, "When you fight someone and win, you cause them pain, and the suffering of others shouldn't make you happy."

"All I meant was that it might be fun to do something together," Cara sulked. Cef sighed lowly before continuing.

"So what type of style do you want to learn?" Cef said.

"What do you mean?" Cara asked, confused.

"Well, I use two katanas, that's my own style, whereas Cloud uses a sword that anyone who understood physics would be able to tell you should snap him in half, Tifa fights with her fists, and so on and so forth, what do you think you should use?"

"Well, um, I don't know that much, but could I try just using one sword for now?" Cara asked.

"Of course, let's go up onto the deck, though," Cef said. He picked up his two swords and the two wooden katanas he used in the tournament, put them under his arm, and carried them up the deck. Cara followed him, but Cef stopped her outside her room.

"You might want to wear pants," Cef said, noticing Cara's knee length skirt which frilled out whenever she walked.

"Right," Cara said. She ran into her room, closed the door, and two minutes later came back wearing a pair of loose jeans. "Will these work?"

"Can you move in them?" Cef asked.

"That depends on how much you mean," Cara said.

"Hold out your leg," Cef said. Cara stuck her leg out; Cef grabbed it, and slowly began lifting it up and Cara leaned against the wall for balance. Cef was able to get her leg almost parallel to her head before Cara's face was contorted with pain.

"Cef that's too much!" Cara said. It was just at that moment that Tifa walked into the hallway upon the sight of Cara leaned against the wall with one leg spread upwards and resting on Cef's chest. There was an awkward silence as Tifa stood there with her eyes in a shocked state and Cef began to explain.

"I'm just stretching her out, she wanted to-" Cef began before Tifa cut him off.

"I'm just gonna pretend I didn't see anything," Tifa said as she began to back up into her room. After Tifa had left the hallway, Cef turned to Cara and began talking.

"Well, your pants didn't rip, so they should work," Cef said as he slowly let Cara's leg down.

"Is that all?" Cara asked.

"Yeah," Cef said.

"Good, let's go!" Cara said, running up to the deck. Cef picked the swords up off the ground and followed her. When Cef got onto the deck, he was pleased to see Cara stretching. One less thing he'd have to teach her. Cef stretched out himself for a few minutes and then had Cara stand across from him in the middle of the deck.

"So what do we do?" Cara asked.

"Here," Cef said, holding out one of the wooden katanas to her. She held it in one hand, looking awkward and unsure what to do with it.

"First, get into a stance," Cef said. Cara wasn't entirely sure how to do this, so Cef picked up a wooden katana himself and showed her how, holding the sword so that the handle was in front of his waist and the blade in front of his face at an angle with one leg bent at almost a ninety degree angle in front of him and his other leg perfectly straight behind him. Cara tried to imitate his stance and Cef merely chuckled at her amateur style.

"What's so funny?" Cara said.

"Well first off," Cef said, walking towards her, "Your front leg needs to be bent a lot more," Cef knelt down, held her knee and pushed it forward, causing her knee to bend more. "Your back leg needs to be straight," Cef said as he straightened her back leg, "Your feet need to be parallel," Cef said as he knelt down and straightened her feet so they pointed exactly the same direction, "And you're holding the sword wrong."

"What are you talking about?" Cara said, "I'm holding it exactly like you did."

"Yes but I'm left handed," Cef said, "You, on the other hand, should hold it with your right hand on top right underneath the hand guard, your left hand a couple inches from the bottom of the handle for leverage, and the blade angled to the right." Cara followed the instructions and held the sword accordingly.

"What about now?" Cara asked.

"Almost there, just lower the sword so the handle is in front of your waist," Cef instructed. Cara did so and soon she was looking almost like a master. Almost.

"Can we start fighting now?" Cara asked enthusiastically.

"Alright," Cef said. He picked up the wooden katana he had dropped, twirled it expertly in his fingers, and got into a stance that had him hold the sword in one hand at eye level on the left side of his head with his other arm extended and pointing at Cara with his back leg bent and his front leg straight.

"Is that a stance too?" Cara asked.

"Yeah, but it's more advanced. Stick with the basics," Cef said.

"Alright," Cara said, looking confused, "What am I supposed to do?"

"Come at me and attack," Cef said. Cara did so, trying to imitate the movements she had seen Cef do, swing the sword downward. It missed Cef by at least six inches.

"You need to be more precise," Cef said, "Try again." Cara attacked again, this time doing a horizontal strike to Cef's midsection. Cef casually blocked it, but to his surprise Cara bent her knees to the point that she was nearly touching the ground, which lowered the sword, which gave her a good shot at Cef's legs. Cef jumped over the sword at the last minute to avoid getting his shins bashed.

"How was that?" Cara asked.

"Good, I wasn't expecting something like that on the first day," Cef said, "Attack me again." Cara got back into her starting position and rushed at Cef again, delivering several strikes that Cef blocked. While they were fighting, Cef took note of her technique. She seemed to prefer a sort of bait-and-trap strategy, repeatedly using what could be seen as a basic move that had Cef block in one direction, then quickly switching to another attack from a different angle. The two continued fighting, Cara doing all the attacks and Cef blocking each one, until Cef decided to do an attack, waiting until after Cara had lured him into a "trap" when she was switching positions to do another attack. The attack went for her stomach and had Cef not stopped it before it hit her it would probably have knocked her off her feet.

"That's not fair," Cara said.

"It's perfectly fair," Cef said, "You just need to learn to block more."

"You'll teach me how to do that, right?" Cara asked.

"Of course. We'll go over anything you want to." Cef answered. And so for the next few weeks, the two of them spent the majority of their time on the deck training. They started with the basics, Cef instructing Cara on different types of attacks and their advantages and disadvantages, blocking, and dodging before delving into more advanced subject matter such as counter attacking and in some cases Cef even showed Cara aerial fighting. This all happened during the day, of course. At night, however, Cef's dreams were plagued with nightmarish visions of the person he hated most killing the ones he cared for the most.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: A Mother's Love

Cara slammed into the deck flat on her back and quickly pushed off the floor with her hand, springing back up onto her feet.

"Good," Cef said, swinging his wooden katana at her, "You're getting better at recovering, but you shouldn't get knocked over in the first place." Cef delivered several strikes and Cara blocked them all. After blocking Cef's next strike, Cara spun around to get out of the way of Cef's next attack, but she also used the spin to give her momentum for an attack that Cef couldn't block. Instead, Cef dropped to the ground, sliding under the attack. He popped up next to Cara when she was still recovering from her attack and swung his sword in an upward slash at her torso. Cara put all her energy into swinging around and blocked the attack, but even after Cara blocked the upper-slash, Cef didn't stop the motion. He put all his strength into his arms and lifted Cara into the air. Cef swung his sword back behind him, making Cara flip off it while spinning, resulting in an acrobatic diagonal flip that extremely disoriented Cara. Cef realized that Cara wouldn't be able to land it, so he quickly dashed underneath her, put his arm out and caught her.

"You okay?" Cef asked. Cara's eyes were squinted shut, her left hand was in a fist with one bent finger sticking out in front of her mouth, and her right hand gripping the wooded sword with white knuckles. Cara slowly opened her eyes and looked up at Cef.

"Yeah," Cara said. She quickly shot her hand up and smacked Cef in the back of the head. "Why would you do that?" she yelled.

"I thought you could handle it," Cef said. "I could when I was your age."

"You're the same age as me!" Cara yelled.

"Well, what does that tell you?" Cef said, smiling. Cara got up out of Cef's arm, dropped the sword at Cef's feet, and staggered around, dizzy. Cef reached out to help her, but she stuck her arm out to stop him.

"I can do it," Cara said. She stumbled to the railing at the edge of the deck, gripped it with both hands and dropped to her knees.

"Careful, you're thin enough to slip between the bars," Cef warned, "Not that I couldn't catch you."

"Just consider yourself lucky that I'm too dizzy to do anything," Cara said, "Otherwise I'd find something heavy to hit you with."

"No you wouldn't," Cef said. He knelt down next to her, turned her head towards his and kissed her, but the kiss was brief, due to Cara breaking away from him to lean over the edge and throwing up off the ship. A few seconds later Cef started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Cara said, wiping her mouth, with her hand and shaking it off, "That was disgusting."

"It's just that we just passed over a town," Cef said, "And it's three in the afternoon."

"Sorry," Cara yelled to the town beneath them.

"They can't hear you," Cef said, tossing his hair over his shoulder.

"You realize that it's your fault my stomach feels so twisted," Cara said.

"Yes, I do," Cef said, "Come on, let's go back inside for a rest." Cef got up, picked up the swords and the two of them began walking to the airlock door.

"God my stomach feels bad," Cara said.

"I hear they're making clam chowder with extra creamy sauce and juicy baby-clams," Cef said. Cara ran to the railing and vomited again.

---

In a small country town, a man wearing an expensive dry-clean-only suit who was covered in _sick_ turned his head and saw another man get hit with the same substance.

---

Inside, Cara took some medicine to help ease her stomach before stepping into the bathroom attached to her bedroom.

"What are you doing?" Cef called after her.

"I've been working out all day," Cara said, "I'm covered in sweat and am going to shower."

Cef left her room and went to his own, also deciding a shower was in order, but Cef's showers were different than Cara's. In all his life, Cef had yet to see Cara take less than fifty minutes to get out of the bathroom when bathing was involved. It was divided evenly, but the entire fifty minutes was occupied with loud noises. For the first twenty-five minutes, the loud noise was the shower, water running, and what-not, and for the second twenty-five minutes the loud noise was the blow dryer. Cef couldn't believe how long Cara took to dry herself. When asked about it, Cara merely said that she couldn't stand having clothes on when her body was wet, so she always had to dry herself completely before getting out of the bathroom and putting fresh clothes on. And as for why she took so long in the actual shower, she merely said she wasn't initiative enough to go any faster because of how much she liked the water pouring on her.

Cef ran all these thoughts in his head as he stepped into the shower. There were two types of times when Cef really was able to be alone with his thoughts; when he was bathing, and when he was lying in bed, waiting to fall asleep. Many thoughts went through Cef's head while he was showering, like what he could teach Cara next about sword-fighting, or a way to make his own sword pull out of their sheaths easier, and ways on how to make Aeris not be so judgmental about Cara. If he could just show her how good Cara was, she wouldn't act that way, but he couldn't think of anyway to do that.

Cef tried to make sure his hair didn't get wet, as he was going for a quick shower. He merely rubbed his body down with soap, rinsed himself off, and stepped out. When he was done, he rubbed himself dry with a towel, applied some deodorant, and walked out into his bedroom. He changed into new clothes and took his old ones to the lower areas of the ship where several service areas were located, including the laundry rooms. He walked back up the stairs and went into Cara's room to see if she was done yet. Her shower was still running, so he merely sat on her bed and waited. Cef got tired as he was waiting, and soon he fell back on Cara's bed asleep.

Cef fell into a dream, seeing images of Cara, Aeris, and his mother flash around him as he fell. He landed softly on what appeared to be nothing and looked around to try and get his bearings. While he was looking around, he saw someone standing off in the distance. Cef ran towards it and the person's identity became clear as he got closer. By the time Cef was five feet away from the person, he could plainly see who it was.

Sephiroth turned around and faced his son.

"How long has it been since you've seen your dear father?" Sephiroth asked.

"I think 'dear' is an overstatement," Cef said darkly.

"Really? Because I would think that, considering all I've done for you, you'd warm up to me a bit more than you do," Sephiroth said.

"What have you done for me that didn't bring me pain?" Cef asked.

"Well, when you were barely more than a baby, I did use all of my leaves from duty to spend time with you and your mother," Sephiroth said, "And I was quite a loving father if I do say so myself."

"You were a 'loving father' for three years," Cef growled, "I can barely remember being that young."

"True," Sephiroth said, "But the only reason our time together was so short was due to a very particular someone wrenching my life away from me."

"What else have you done for me?" Cef barked.

"Alright, how about saving your mother as she lay dying on the train station steps? If I hadn't done that, you'd never have been born," Sephiroth said.

"Alright, what else?" Cef asked.

"I did summon Meteor," Sephiroth said, "Which while most people would take that as a bad thing, it did set a sequence of events in motion that included you leaving Midgar, which if my memory isn't lying to me, was a place you didn't like very much."

"It was also because of Meteor that my mother died," Cef said, tears beginning to well up in his eyes.

"Which brings me to my next point," Sephiroth said, "If your mother hadn't died, she wouldn't have told you of your sister, and many of your most recent fond memories of her would not have happened."

"Shut up," Cef said.

"Excuse me? It could be considered rude to speak to your father like that," Sephiroth said.

"I don't care," Cef cried, "You're making it seem like her death was okay, like it was justified!"

"Was it not? She had come close to dying several times before, it made sense that she wouldn't last long," Sephiroth smirked.

"SHUT UP!" Cef screamed. He ran at Sephiroth, drawing his swords as he was running. Sephiroth drew out the Masamune and blocked Cef's sword swing.

"So much love, so much anger, for such a small boy," Sephiroth said as their swords grinded together, "It would be a shame if one of the ones the love went to was disposed of." An image of Cara flashed next to Cef as Sephiroth was saying this.

"If you harm her-" Cef said before being cut off.

"You'll do what? I'm more skilled than you can ever hope to be," Sephiroth said, "Not to mention that there's no way for you to harm me in my current state."

"I'll become stronger than you," Cef said, "I'll learn how to beat you." Sephiroth swung his sword, causing Cef to jump backwards.

"You can only see me in your dreams," Sephiroth said, "So for now our visit is over."

"Why?" Cef asked.

"Because Cef, you need to wake up," Sephiroth said. Just then Cara gripped Cef's shoulders and shook him awake.

"Cef you need to wake up," Cara said. Cef was jerked away from his dream into the waking world, staring up at Cara. Cara smiled as Cef opened his eyes and stared into hers. Cef quickly shot up and wrapped his arms around Cara, holding her tight.

"Cef, what's wrong?" Cara asked.

"I was afraid that you..." Cef trailed off without finishing his statement.

"That I what?" she asked.

"Nothing," Cef said.

"Do you want to keep on practicing?" Cara asked.

"No, I don't think I can focus enough," Cef said.

"That's fine," Cara said, "Is there anything you feel like doing?"

"No," Cef said, "Maybe later."

"Alright, let me know when you're ready," Cara said. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and walked out of the room, leaving Cef alone with his thoughts.

"Why is this happening?" Cef asked aloud to an empty room. After asking that, he could have sworn he heard a voice say something as an answer. When he was sure that no one was around to say anything, he got up, left the room, and headed back to his own. In his room, Cef picked up his two katanas lying on his bed where he left them before beginning his lesson with Cara. He ran a hand over the hilt of one of them, feeling the cloth wrapping the handle rub against his hand as his fingers fell in the diamond-shaped grooves where the black cloth didn't cover. He pulled one sword out of its sheath, examining the polished blade. The light on the ceiling reflected on the blade, shimmering as if it was shining on rippling water. Cef's face was reflected in the sword, but when he looked into his own emerald green eyes, into the snake-like slit pupils, he saw only his father.

"Cef?" Cara asked from behind him. Cef put the sword back in its sheath, the blade making a _schiiink-tunk_ noise as the blade slid inside the wood and the hand guard hit the top of the sheath.

"What is it?" Cef asked, turning to face her.

"Are you sure there's nothing I can do to help?" Cara asked, slowly coming towards Cef.

"Trust me, there's nothing you can do," Cef said.

---

Cef was having what could possibly be the first peaceful dream he'd had in weeks. He was walking through a field of flowers, the sky seemed to have a gentle white glow, and the air tasted sweet. Of course, little did he know that what seemed like the best dream he'd had yet, would turn out to be the worst.

Cef walked forward, enjoying the simple bliss of the environment around him. He continued walking forward until he came upon a lone tree in an otherwise empty field. There was someone sitting down, leaning their back against the tree. It was a woman. A woman Cef thought he'd never see again.

"...Mother?" Cef asked in disbelief. She turned her head towards him, and Cef could hold back a gasp as he saw her face. It was Ifalna.

"Mother! It is you! I thought I'd never see you again!" Cef ran towards her and wrapped his arms around her neck, holding her close, until she shoved his arms away.

"Get off me," she said sternly.

"What?" Cef asked, shocked.

"Just go away," Ifalna said.

"Mother? Don't you recognize me? I'm your son," Cef said.

"Of course I recognize you. I was saddled with you for eight years, wasn't I?" Ifalna said harshly, "Almost nine if you count the time I was pregnant with you."

"...Saddled?" Cef said numbly.

"You've never done a single good thing for me your whole life," Ifalna said, "So just go away."

"Why are you saying this?" Cef asked with tears in his eyes.

"Why? Why!?" she shouted, "I'll tell you why. I was mercilessly attacked in Midgar every day because you had silver hair, I lost my husband because he was off risking his life to get money to feed you, I died so that you could live, and just when I was enjoying a happy afterlife with my daughter, you take her away from me."

"B-but-" Cef couldn't find any words to describe this. His mother had always been the one person who would show him kindness no matter what. To hear her say such hurtful things was too much for him to handle.

"Just leave," Ifalna said, "I don't ever want to see you again." Cef's head was spinning, his knees gave, there was a foul taste in his mouth, and then he was awake. Cef got out of his bed and staggered around his bedroom in a daze, slamming into several walls. The noise echoed through the metal walls of the Highwind 3 until there was a large gathering of people outside Cef's room, all wondering what was going on. Cara pushed through them and burst through the door to Cef's room, running towards Cef and gripping his shoulders.

"Cef! Cef! What's wrong!?" she cried.

"She's..." Cef spoke in short, disjointed gasps "she's abandoned me... she's cast me aside."

"What?" Cara asked, "Who? Who are you talking about?"

"She... can't..." Cef gasped, "Leave..." Cef collapsed on the ground with a large thud, his body twitching as it lay on the ground.

"Cef! Wake up!" Cara cried, leaning over Cef's body and shaking him.

"Cara," Cloud said as he walked into the room, "Let him rest." Cara nodded her head, and, after wiping the tears from her eyes, took the blanket and a pillow from Cef's bed. She placed the pillow under his head and laid the blanket over his body. She kissed him on his head before leaving the room with Cloud.

---

Cef was alone. All around him, there was nothing. No one. No where. And he was alone. He called out in the darkness, but there was no answer. There was no light to guide him, no love to hold him. He was alone.

"Where am I?" Cef shouted out, "What's happening to me?"

"Poor child," a voice said. The voice was disturbing. Raspy, creepy, alien, just hearing it sent a shiver down Cef's spine.

"Who's there?" Cef shouted.

"Unaware even of his family," the voice said.

"What are you talking about?" Cef yelled.

"But I can change that," the voice said, "I can teach you the truth about yourself, and your family."

"What? What don't I know about my family?" Cef called out.

"You think your father deserves to be hated, but in reality, everything he did, was the result of someone else," the voice said.

"Who?" Cef said.

"The man Cloud. He is the one you should hate."

"What?" Cef said in disbelief.

"Because he killed your father, Sephiroth was able to kill your sister, summon Meteor, and cause irreversible suffering to thousands."

"He was just doing what he thought to be right at the time," Cef said, "There was no way he could've foreseen what my father would do."

"Alright, but now here's something he didn't tell you," the voice said.

"What didn't he tell me?" Cef asked.

"That it was because of him that your sister died," the voice said, "After handing Sephiroth the Black Materia, he attacked Aeris and scared her off. So she ran to the Forgotten Capital, and when Cloud found her, he almost killed her again, but before he could bring his sword down, Sephiroth jumped down and did it for him. And Cloud just stood there and watched your sister die."

"Th-that can't be true," Cef said, but even as he spoke these words he knew that the voice wasn't lying.

"It's okay," the voice said, "Cloud would naturally try to deceive you, if he wanted to destroy you."

"What?" Cef asked.

"It's obvious. He hates your father so much that he would go to great lengths to destroy everyone close to him," the voice said, "Which I would think includes Cara and Aeris."

"What?" Cef asked again.

"He already went to great lengths to destroy Aeris once, and she's related to Sephiroth the same way Cara is. In fact, you and both of those two young women are in grave danger as long as Cloud is alive."

"So what do I do?" Cef asked.

"You need to get rid of him."

"How?"

"Just listen to me, I'll guide you to everything you need."

"Alright, I will," Cef said, "But what's your name? What will I call you?"

"Call me the same thing that your father, and that all your brothers and sisters called me," the voice said.

"And what's that?" Cef asked.

And the voice answered with an infamous, diabolical, and malevolent "Mother."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Tension Rising

Cara was worried. Cef hadn't been himself during the past week. He seemed more isolated and tired. Dark rings surrounded his eyes, his hair had grown a good deal longer, now brushing past his shoulder blades. He merely went about each day, muttering to himself and not talking to anyone. He hadn't trained with Cara either. Cara instead practiced on her own, but she still missed Cef there instructing her. She had barely even kissed Cef since the incident when Cef had woken up late at night thrashing about in his room. Cara walked into Cef's room one day, trying to see if there was anything she could do to help.

"Cef?" Cara asked tentatively as she entered the room.

"What is it? What do you want?" Cef asked hastily.

"Cef, I'm worried about you," Cara said, sitting down on Cef's bed next to him.

"Don't worry about me, worry about you," Cef said, averting his eyes from her.

"What?" Cara asked, "Why shouldn't I worry about you?"

"I can take care of myself, you can't," Cef said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cara said angrily.

"There are many people that are stronger than you. They can hurt you," Cef said.

"Fine, if you don't need me, then I'll just leave," Cara said as she got up, but she couldn't stay mad at Cef when she knew he was just looking out for her. She bent low and kissed him on the lips, "I love you," Cara told him.

"Don't worry," Cef said, and for the first time in a week, he smiled as he looked up at her, "Everything will be fine soon." But for some reason, the smile that Cef gave her didn't warm her heart like his smiles usually do. In fact, that smile seemed almost bone-chilling. Cara stood up and left the room and began walking down the corridor to her own, until Aeris approached her.

"Hey, Cara?" Aeris asked.

"What is it?" Cara answered.

"Cef has been acting strange lately," Aeris said.

"I've noticed," Cara said.

"I'm worried about him. He's never acted like this before," Aeris said.

"I know," Cara said, "I've known him since we were both five."

"I just wanted to ask you," Aeris began, "If Cef says anything, about why he's acting the way he is, or anything else that worries you, I want you to tell me. Okay?"

"Alright," Cara answered.

"Thanks," Aeris said, smiling.

Cara ran back to her room and got the wooden katana Cef had given her before running up to the deck and beginning her daily training. Even though she was trying her hardest, she wasn't thinking about the sword moves she was practicing. Her mind was focused on Cef, and why he was acting the way he was.

---

"When can we end this?" Cef asked aloud.

"Why is that so important?" his mother answered.

"Cara's upset. I want her to be happy," Cef said.

"Of course," his mother said, "You would do anything for her."

"I just want this to end. Aeris has been worried too, if I end this, then they'll both be happy," Cef said.

"Alright," his mother said, "Where is the airship now?"

"I don't see why that matters," Cef said.

"Just tell me."

"It's over the ocean, heading north."

"Towards the northern continent?"

"Yes, it will be there tonight," Cef said, "Why is that so important?"

"It's nothing, merely a safety precaution, but tell me," his mother began, "When will it be over the northern-most part of the continent? For my plan to work, that's where we'll need to be."

"Around midnight," Cef said.

"Good, then just before midnight, you can end this."

---

"Cara?" Cloud said, stepping onto the deck of the ship.

"What?" Cara asked, wiping some sweat from her forehead.

"Why aren't you training with Cef?" Cloud asked.

"Cef's been acting strange lately," Cara said, "He barely does anything anymore, so I practice on my own. But I'll admit that it's a lot lonelier this way."

"Y'know," Cloud said, "I could practice with you."

"Really?" Cara asked.

"Yeah, believe it or not I do have _some_ skill," Cloud said.

"Okay then, let's get started." Cara and Cloud practiced sword fighting for the rest of the day. Truth be told, Cloud hadn't even touched his sword since the tournament. It would be good for him to get some practice in. He started out slow, Cara easily beating him, but soon he got the hang of it again and was moving at his full skill level. Cara was putting up quite a challenge. Cef had taught her well. However, for all her skill, Cara lacked raw power. Her thin frame made it hard for her to withstand harsh strain, so, once Cloud got back into his groove, he won their matches by simply outlasting her. The sun was setting, and the two were exhausted, yet the north air kept them cool. They fell back on the deck together, laughing and panting at the same time. Cara sat up and saw Cef looking at her through one of the portholes. He had an extremely scornful look on his face, like he was angry and vengeful. Then she realized he wasn't looking at her, he was looking at Cloud.

"I'm exhausted," Cloud said, sitting up, "Let's go back inside and get something to eat. Besides, we'll catch a cold if we stay out here to long."

"Yeah," Cara said, turning her gaze back at Cloud away from the porthole, "Let's go inside." When Cara looked back at the window, Cef was gone.

---

"Good night, Cef," Cara said, kissing Cef on the cheek and walking out of the room.

"Good night Cara," Cef said just before she left. Cara took one last look at Cef before closing the door. When Cara's footsteps had fallen out of earshot, Cef's mother began to speak to him.

"You need to sleep," she said, "It'll rejuvenate you."

"But it's almost ten," Cef said, "I won't be able to wake up in time."

"I'll wake you up, now fall asleep!" Cef was out before his head hit the Zu-Down stuffed pillow.

Cloud, meanwhile, was laying face-up in his bed, half awake. He was exhausted and ready to fall asleep, but something kept him awake. Some bad, foreboding feeling that told him he couldn't fall asleep. He laid there until eleven, until finally, he fell asleep.

At 11:55, Cef bolted into a sitting position from his sleep. He quickly got dressed, pulling on his boots and clipping his sword sheaths onto his belt. He drew one blade out and slowly walked down the hallway. He quietly pushed open the door to Cloud's room and walked up to Cloud's bed. He stared at the sleeping blond-haired man for a moment, thinking of all the pain he had caused him, and how things would be better once he was gone. Cef raised the sword above his head, twirled it so he was holding it upside-down with the tip pointed directly at Cloud's chest, hesitated for a moment, and thrust down.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Battle of the Heroes Part 1: Over Sky and Under Earth

Tifa was walking back to her room at ll:59 after taking a midnight trip to the bathroom. As she was going back, she walked past Cloud's room, and noticed that his door was open, which was unusual as he normally slept with his door closed, not for privacy but security. For someone to enter his room, they'd have to open the door, and unless they were being extremely careful, they'd make enough noise to wake him up. Tifa glanced in the room, and saw Cef standing over the sleeping Cloud, his sword in hand.

Cef raised the sword above his head, twirled it so he was holding it upside-down with the tip pointed directly at Cloud's chest, hesitated for a moment, and thrust down. In the moment before the blade made contact with Cloud's body, Tifa screamed Cloud's name as loud as she could while running forward. She tackled Cef, her greater frame and weight forcing him to the ground the moment before his katana would have impaled Cloud. Cloud was immediately up and awake, along with most other occupants of the Highwind 3.

"Get off me!" Cef shouted at Tifa as the two of them wrestled each other. When she didn't comply, Cef put both his feet on her stomach and did a powerful push-kick, sending her flying across Cloud's bedroom and slamming into the wall.

"Tifa!" Cloud shouted.

"I'm fine," she said, staring up at Cloud, "LOOK OUT!" she shouted. Cloud jumped to the side just in time to avoid being slashed open by Cef. Cloud back flipped over his bed to where his Buster Sword was hidden, grabbed it and swung it at Cef. Cef parried so forcefully that Cloud was knocked back and lost his balance. Cef would have taken advantage of this opportunity to attack had Tifa not latched onto his back with her arms around his neck.

"Stay down!" Cef shouted. He drove his elbow into her stomach, followed that by snapping his forearm up to pound her face with the back of his fist, kicked her in the knee to make her lose her footing, then delivered a spinning back kick to her lower torso, launching her through Cloud's door frame and into the corridor. Tifa regained her footing before colliding with the metal wall, then collapsed onto her hands and knees.

"Cef, what are you doing!?" Cloud yelled as he parried another of Cef's strikes.

"What I should have done a long time ago," Cef said. Cef was deliberately keeping his weapons high up, so as to make Cloud think his legs were vulnerable. Cloud took the bait, stabbing at Cef's shins. Cef hopped into the air, landing on the blunt side of Cloud's sword. Cef expertly ran up the blade, kicked off it into a flip that carried him over Cloud's head and delivered two kicks to Cloud's back, sending him flying almost as far as Tifa.

"The hell's goin' on down here?" Cid shouted as he ran down the corridor, brandishing his spear.

"Cef's gone mad!" Tifa told him. Just then, Cloud came flying out the door, followed by Cef, the two doing an intricate dance of sword fighting in mid-air before landing gracefully on the ground.

"No brawlin' on my ship!" Cid yelled. When the two ignored him, he swung his spear at Cef, who twirled around so he had Cloud and Cid on either side and raised both swords to block an attack from each of them. Cloud and Cid pushed against Cef as hard as they could, and Cef pushed back. His eyes squinted shut as the strain took his body, but a new wave of power, accompanied by green sparks illuminating the iris's on his now-open eyes, gave him the strength to push back so hard against them that they both went flying ten feet, Cid colliding with the wall and Cloud regaining his footing in the air and putting his feet against the wall so he could push off it and fly at Cef.

Cef delivered a high-kick to Cloud's face as Cloud leaped back at him. Cef followed through with the motion with a back-flip kick, directly to Cid's chest, who had been sneaking up on Cef. Cef planted the tips of his swords in the ground, holding himself up on them as he spun his legs around, delivering kicks in all directions at Cloud, Tifa, and Cid in a break dancing-like fashion, raising the swords up and quickly planting them down again as his legs passed them. Cef shot both his legs at Cid, wrapped his feet around the handle of Cid's spear and ripped it out of his hands. Cef stabbed the spear in the ground and tightly held onto it with his legs for support as he pulled one sword up and stabbed at Cloud.

Cloud blocked by holding the wide, flat side of his blade up to Cef, which was exactly what Cef wanted. His sword passed through the Materia-slots in Cloud's sword, which were barely more than a millimeter wider than Cef's own blade. Cef flicked his arm upwards, pulling the Buster Sword out of Cloud's hands and launching it into the air directly above Cef's head. Cef flipped up with his legs by pulling them up as fast as he could and used the spear handle to kick the Buster Sword directly at Cloud with the centrifugal force from Cef's flip.

"Good," Cef's mother told him, "Just keep following my instructions like that and you'll win for sure."

Cloud's eyes widened just before he pirouetted to the side and grabbed the handle of the Buster Sword on its way past, using the spinning motion to swing the sword around back at Cef. Cef stabbed both his katanas into the ceiling and tilted them back to hold him up and used the spear his legs were clutching to block Cloud's sword strikes, briefly letting go of the sword handles just long enough to spin around and grab them again to use the tail end of the spear to block an attack.

By now, every person on the ship was watching them fight, amazed at their skill and terrified by their capabilities. Cara watched in tears as Cef ruthlessly attacked Cloud, Aeris's hands on her shoulders doing little to comfort her. Cef kicked the spear into the air and caught it, this time with his legs underneath it and spaced about a foot apart while the spear rested in the inward curve of his ankles. Cef blocked a downward vertical strike from Cloud like this, making sure that the sword went right between his legs.

The wood the handle was made of snapped. Cef threw the bottom piece at Cloud and grabbed the bladed end with one hand while holding onto a sword handle sticking out of the ceiling. Cef put both his feet on the ceiling, hanging upside-down while fighting Cloud with the top of the broken spear in his free hand. As Cef was fighting, he noticed his long hair hanging down and got an idea. After enough damage had been dealt to the spear that it was at the point Cef thought it would break, he threw it at Cloud, making sure to aim away from Cara and Aeris. He put his other hand back on the sword handle and pulled them both out of the ceiling, then flew at Cloud.

Cloud noticed that the aim on Cef's jump was off. With his current direction, Cef would fly directly to the left of Cloud. Cloud raised his sword in front of his body to block the inevitable slash that Cef would make as he flew past and realized his mistake, but it didn't come. Instead, Cef whipped his head at Cloud, making nearly two feet of silver hair snap into Cloud's face, most noticeably, his eyes and mouth. Cloud spat trying to get the hair out of his face, then realized that the entire thing had been Cef's plan. Cef had used his hair as a distraction.

Cef put the toes of one foot on the ground just after whipping his hair into Cloud's face. They slid along the ground until Cef put the rest of his foot down and snapped it around, causing his body to stop abruptly and spin around to face Cloud's back. Cef used the spinning motion to deliver a strike at Cloud's back, but a slightly transparent barrier appeared between Cef's sword and Cloud's body. Cef looked around and saw Aeris holding a Shield Materia. Cef flew at her with his sword raised and Aeris raised her arms to protect herself.

Cef swung his sword so accurately that it passed between her fingers and sliced open the Shield Materia, doing so had two effects. The first was that the barrier surrounding Cloud vanished, and the second that another, much larger, barrier expanded from the Materia fragments, creating a bubble around Cloud and Cef. Cef pushed against the inside of the barrier and it moved in the direction he pushed it, so he ran at it and slammed into it with the triangular point of his shoulder, moving the bubble down the corridor and dragging Cloud along with it. The barrier cut circular grooves in the walls as it sped down the corridor and people leapt to get out of its way. The energy bubble dissipated just as Cloud and Cef reached the stairs that led up to the deck.

"Get up to the deck!" Cef's mother said in his ear, "You don't have much time left. The ship will pass it soon if you don't hurry." Cef flipped over Cloud's head and kicked him in the back, sending him up the staircase. Cloud put his hand on one of the steps and sprung off it into a flip, raising his sword just in time to block a strike as Cef flew through the air up at Cloud. Cef pushed Cloud back with his sword, sending him flying him through the airlock and into the open air. Both sets of doors in the airlock were ripped off their hinges and thrown overboard out on the deck.

Immediately, a huge vortex began sucking at the doorway, threatening to pull the ship's occupants out into the sky. Cef let it carry him out the door, whipping him through the air and into the night sky. Cef instinctively raised his swords above him to block the strike he anticipated Cloud would use, only to find that Cloud was on the ground.

Cloud did an upwards slash, nearly taking off Cef's legs, which it would have if Cef had not quickly flipped over and parried with his own swords. Cef began a massive flip, rapidly spinning like a wheel in mid air, curled up in a ball with one sword sticking out beneath him and one above him, creating a spinning disk right above Cloud. Cef flew downwards and Cloud jumped to the side, causing Cef to rip a huge gash in the deck floor over six feet long. Cloud swung his sword at Cef's exposed side, but Cef turned on his side in mid air while he was spinning, which not only parried Cloud's strike, it slapped the sword so many times it literally went flying out of his hand and back into the ship through the now-useless airlock. Cef stopped spinning, gripped his head for a second to calm his woozy-ness, then put one sword at Cloud's throat with Cloud having no weapon to fight with.

"Any last words?" Cef asked sadistically.

"Yeah, your organs will be too mauled to donate to science," Cloud said. Cef was confused by this statement at first, then realized his mistake. If the airlock doors weren't closed and the ship was still moving, the vortex would still be pulling at the area right in front of the airlock, which was right where Cloud's sword had flown.

Cef jumped in the air and spread his legs, leap frog-ing over the Buster Sword that came flying at him. The blade caught on his pant legs, pulling him off the ship as it flew like a missile into the open air. Unfortunately for Cloud, Cef's sword was still right at his throat, and Cef had ample time to put the blade underneath the metal shoulder guard Cloud wore, which made Cloud fly into the air with him. Out in the open air, in front of and slightly to the side of the ship, with literally no ground to battle on, Cloud grabbed the handle of his Buster Sword and pulled it away from Cef's pants, but making sure to flip Cef underneath him before pulling it completely free.

Cloud smacked Cef downwards with the flat side of the blade, leaped up and grabbed one of the many ropes hanging of the hull and pulled himself back onto the deck. Back on the ship, Cloud saw that Tifa, Cid, Cara, and Aeris were all waiting for him with an emergency door in place of the airlocks'.

"Where's Cef?" Cara asked, fearing the worst. Cloud merely shook his head, and Cara buried her face in Aeris's dress, crying. Just then, a shadow was cast over the deck. Cloud looked up at the moon and saw a very picturesque scene of Cef directly in front of a huge moon, a sword in each hand and a rope with a severed end between his teeth, his hair flowing to either side in perfect symmetry, his legs together in an arrow-shape, and snowy mountains beneath him. Cloud uttered a single word at this point.

"Crap." Cef flew at Cloud with all his strength, slamming into him and carrying him off the deck. Cara, Aeris, Tifa, and Cid immediately ran to the guard railing and looked off the side at the two. Until the rope that Cef had been trailing tightened around the deck and pulled forcefully due to his momentum, causing the ship to lurch downwards at dangerous speeds.

"Shit," Cid swore. He ran into the airlock, quickly closing the door behind him, and bolted down to the bridge, grabbed the control wheel, and fought with the ship to try and make it fly straight again.

Back outside, Cef and Cloud fought each other in the open air, grabbing ropes and Tarzan-swinging towards each other, slashing their swords at the other as they went past, then leaping to another rope and repeating the process. The two of them swung at each other, but simultaneously let go of the ropes, sending themselves flying at each other. They crossed in mid air, slashed their swords together, then grabbing the rope that the other had swung off of, creating yet another picturesque image. As the ship lurched backwards and forwards with Cid steering and Cloud and Cef pulling, the movements of the ropes became more random, causing Cloud and Cef's battle to become more difficult.

"Do it, now!" Cef's mother shouted in his ear, "You won't get another chance! In the air, Cloud has the advantage, but underground, it's too narrow, your small frame will help you there." Cef let go of his rope early and flew above Cloud, slicing at the rope above him. Cloud and Cef both plummeted to the crater below.

"CEF!" Cara screamed in a high, piercing voice, and Aeris held her, to comfort the crying girl.

---

"Get to the Northern Crater!" Tifa yelled into her phone. Barret was on the other end. "I'm gonna call everyone, and come as fast as you can!"

"Alright, I'll be there, I'll just tell Elmyra and tell her not to wake Marlene up," Barret said over the small communicator. Tifa cut the line and immediately hit the next caller on speed-dial, Red XIII.

"I'll be takin' 'er in pretty soon," Cid said.

"Wait, I have a few more calls to make," Tifa said, "Being in a crater will ruin my reception." In Cosmo Canyon, Red XIII answered his specially adapted phone

"Hello?" He said over the line.

"Red! I need you to get to the Northern Crater, as fast as possible!" Tifa said.

"What's happened?" Red XIII asked.

"Something's wrong with Cef. He just attacked Cloud, and they both fell overboard about ten minutes ago. How soon can you get here?" Tifa said hastily.

"I'll leave right now. I should be there in about an hour," Red XIII said over the line.

Meanwhile, Cara sat crying on her bed, with Aeris soothingly rubbing her shoulders to help comfort her.

"C'mon, Cara, cheer up," Aeris said, "I'm sure they're both fine. They've both lived through worse than a drop before."

"It's not just that," Cara said, wiping tears from her eyes, "If they did survive the fall, then they'll probably keep fighting. I couldn't live without Cef, but I don't want anything to happen to Cloud either."

"I know, sweetie, I know," Aeris said, brushing some hair out of Cara's face with her fingers, "No one wants to see them hurt. Everyone's working very hard to make sure they both come back fine. And trust me, Cef may be strong, but Cloud beat Sephiroth. Children rarely surpass their parents, so Cloud should be able to take care of himself."

"But Cef's different! Cloud won't try to hurt him, but Cef won't hold back, and I don't want Cloud to get hurt," Cara said, sobbing into her hands.

"I know, Cloud's done so much for all of us, no one wants to see him get hurt," Aeris said.

"But," Cara said, "He's done more for me. I need both of them."

"What do you mean?" Aeris asked.

"Do you know what it's like? Growing up as a girl in the slums?" Cara began, "And an orphan, at that. Cef looked out for me, he'd give the bullies his lunch, and wouldn't ask for any of mine. He'd take the beatings for both of us, he did everything he could to make me feel better. Just having a friend was more than enough for me. Do you have any idea how lonely not having parents is?"

"Actually, Cara," Aeris said, "I know exactly what you mean. I grew up in the slums too, I never knew my father, and I lost my mother when I was only six. I mean, sure, I had an adoptive mother, but it just wasn't the same."

"So you know what it's like. Cef looked out for me in the slums, but Cloud, Cloudgot me _out_ of the slums. Not just by letting me come on the Highwind, but everything else. I'd still probably be avoiding bullies at school and sitting on my bed all day at the orphanage if it wasn't for him. Cloud's like-" but Cara cut off.

"Like what?" Aeris asked.

"Cloud's like a father," Cara said, "But Cef is something else entirely."

"Hang on," Cid's voice shouted throughout the ship, "I'm takin' 'er in into the crater."

"Here," Tifa said, walking into Cara's room, "Take this." She held out a metal staff to Aeris, who took it and immediately began slotting Materia into it."

"What's that for?" Cara asked.

"The crater's dangerous," Tifa said, "We need to be prepared."

"Should I have a weapon?" Cara asked.

"Sorry, Cara," Tifa said, "You'll have to wait here."

"But Cef's been teaching me how to fight! I won't slow you down, and Cef might listen to me! Just let me-" Cara was cut off by Tifa.

"No, it's too dangerous for a child to be down there," Tifa said strictly.

"Cef and I are the same age!" Cara yelled.

"First off, I wouldn't be able to control Cef even if he was still on the ship," Tifa began, "And second, Cef has natural Jenova cells in him and almost as much experience as any member of our group."

"That's not fair! I need to go!" Cara said, the tears beginning to form in her eyes again.

"Tifa's right, Cara," Aeris said, "It's too dangerous for you. But don't worry. I'll bring Cef and Cloud back, safe and sound." Cara slumped back on her bed with her arms folded; the textbook image of an angsty teenager. The ship moved downwards, slowly descending into the deep crater beneath it.

"C'mon Aeris," Tifa said, pulling her gloves on. Aeris wiped the tears off of Cara's cheek with her thumb.

"Don't worry, just go to sleep and in the morning Cef will be back with you," Aeris said. She stood up and walked out the door with Tifa. Tifa and Aeris met up with Cid and left the airship via extending ramp, then proceeded to delve deep into the crater. After they had left, Cara got up and began pacing around her room, thinking of things she could do. She came to only one conclusion on a way she could help, and she'd need to stay awake for it.

Cara ran to the kitchen, poured herself a cup of coffee (with eight sugars) and, after drinking it, ran to the weapon's locker. She noticed that a staff and a spear were missing off the racks on the walls. She grabbed a katana off the wall and ran back to her room, pulled off the night gown she was wearing and replaced it with jeans and a t-shirt. She put a belt around her waist and hooked the katana onto it, tied her hair back, ran out into the airship lobby, took a deep breath, and walked out the door.

---

Cloud and Cef both plummeted to the crater below.

As they fell, they continued to fight, flipping through the air, slashing through the clouds, and cutting apart the sky. Small vapor trails traced their movements as the clouds clung to them for a few moments. Beams of moonlight slicing through the clouds told them where there were gaps in the clouds, so they flew there and fought unhindered.

As they continued to fight, the moisture in the air made their weapons slick. Hilts were starting to slip out of their hands, and the blades slid around when they clashed them together. Cef used this to his advantage, swinging a katana fast enough that it went flying out of his hand while clashing the other with Cloud's Buster Sword. The sword went whizzing by Cloud's head as he ducked to avoid it. Cef pushed off of Cloud's sword, flipped through the air and caught his own, using the spinning momentum to crash both his swords into Cloud's, forcing them both downwards a few extra feet before pushing off.

Cloud noticed that the ground was coming up on them fast. He locked swords with Cef and spun them both towards the crater, just above the outer edge, hoping that the softer ground there might help break their fall.

"Cef!" Cloud yelled above the roar of the wind, "We need to find a safe way to land!" Cef nodded, knowing that the wind would pull his words away before he even heard them. Cef instructed Cloud with body movements to put the Buster Sword beneath them on its side. Cef and Cloud knelt down on the blade, extending their arms to try and increase the wind resistance. The sword crashed into the ground, creating a smaller crater just on the lip of the much larger one. Cef and Cloud crawled out of the recess in the ground, their bodies shaken even from the softened impact. They stood up and stretched, cracked their backs and knuckles, and got ready to fight again.

"Remember Cef," Cef's mother told him, "Into the crater, you have to go deep into the crater." Cef stabbed one sword into the ground on the inner-side of the crater lip and slashed the ground beneath him with the other, causing him to slide down the slope, taunting Cloud as he went. Cloud followed him, heading into the deepest regions of the crater.

Cef led him to the Northern Cave, where they fought on their way down the long spiraling path that led down into the deepest regions of the planet, jumping across the large gap to the other side and flying back, flipping through the air and throwing pieces of decimated monsters at each other. Cef slaughtered an unfortunate dragon that crossed their paths, knocked Cloud off the path, then threw the dragon corpse at him. Cef then drove down on the huge reptile to push Cloud deeper into the depths.

Cloud struggled out from beneath the huge monster, landing on the very bottom of the spiraling path as the beast fell to the pulsating green core below. Cloud looked up just in time to see Cef coming down on him. Cloud raised his sword, blocking Cef's jump-slash, then pushed up with his sword, sending Cef into the air. Cef flipped backwards and spun into a kick with both his legs aimed straight at Cloud's chest. Cloud flew backwards, deeper into the caves, to avoid it, and Cef was after him in a heartbeat, diving into the twisting tunnels that descended into the depths of the planet.

Cef flipped all around Cloud, rapidly slashing at him from every angle. Cloud was having difficulty blocking the strikes. He couldn't move around much due to the rocks jutting out from the walls, but he couldn't move his sword around either because it would hit the wall. Cloud struggled as they went down the maze-like passages, until finally they were in more open area. A small cliff, on top of another small cliff, with large stalactites hanging down from them, connecting the cliffs with a large path that split into two directions. Cloud remembered this area well. Cef followed his mother's instructions, heading down the left path. The path split again into two separate caves. Cef followed his mother's instructions and went into the one that she told him would be the most difficult for Cloud to navigate.

The Lifestream poured and rose off the rocks, like a waterfall made of fire. The image of that green fire seemed eerily reminiscent to Cef, but he couldn't quite remember where from. Cef blocked a blow from Cloud and leaped down the rocky path, his feet barely ever touching the treacherous terrain. Cloud hopped across some rocks and flew at Cef, raising his sword to swing at Cef, and Cef parrying with both blades. Cef pushed back against Cloud, trying to throw him into the massive green abyss, but Cloud merely skipped to the side, Cef's own momentum nearly making him fall to his doom.

Cef allowed himself to fall forward with his momentum, put his swords on the ground and somersaulted off them into a flip, landed on the side of a rocky outcrop, then jumped back at Cloud with his katana at the ready. Cef flipped over Cloud, repeatedly slashing as he turned in the air over Cloud's head. Cloud spun around, swinging the Buster Sword high at Cef. Cef blocked while he was still in the air, landed, then saw that Cloud had continued the motion and spun around again, this time the Buster Sword aimed at Cef's legs, the tip scraping along the ground as it went.

Cef hopped just in time to land on the blade as it swung around again. Cloud flicked the sword up with both arms, launching Cef off of the steel blade. Cef put his feet on the ceiling and pushed off into a dive at Cloud, who blocked Cef's next strikes. Cef delivered one final strike, raising his swords above his head and turning his whole body into slamming them down on Cloud, the result was that Cef was in a sort of mid-air handstand on Cloud's sword, supporting himself on the blades of his katanas.

Just then, Cef swung his legs down like a massive pendulum, kicking Cloud in the stomach, his legs passing right underneath Cloud's raised Buster Sword. Cloud staggered backwards as Cef landed on the rocks. Cloud gasped for breath after getting the wind knocked out of him by Cef's viscous kick, unable to breath or defend himself as Cef tackled him, driving his shoulder into Cloud's torso and sending him hurtling down the stone steps. Cloud raised his arms above his head as he was rolling in an attempt to loosen his wind pipe, thus allowing air into his lungs. He was successful, and with a new surge of strength he put his hand on a rock just as his rolling motion would have carried his arm over the stone and pushed up into the air, where Cef attacked him immediately.

Cloud parried the strike, hanging upside-down in mid-air as Cef unleashed a ruthless onslaught of attacks. They had been fighting through the crater for nearly an hour, but Cef didn't seem to be showing any signs of exhaustion. Cloud, on the other hand, was feeling the effects of the fight in every bone and muscle in his body. Whether it be lack of sleep, strain from the force of Cef's blows, various bruises across his body, or his still slightly-woozy limbs after a twelve thousand feet drop, Cloud's strength was beginning to grow thin, and he couldn't keep fighting for much longer.

Cloud landed on the ground and raised his sword up, bracing it by putting one hand on the back of blade. Cef delivered several strikes down on Cloud's sword, hitting the blade over and over again until Cloud's elbows gave and his knees buckled. He sagged down to the ground and looked up to see a silver blade pointed at his face.

"Cef," Cloud gasped, "Why are you doing this?"

"Because," Cef growled, "Because you took everything from me. And I want to make sure you don't take anything else."

"What are you talking about!?" Cloud yelled, "Haven't you always said it was your father who took everything from you?"

"I was wrong," Cef admitted, "But Mother showed me the error in my ways, and how to correct all my problems."

"Mother?" Cloud uttered, "Cef stop! You're being tricked!"

"Enough!" Cef shouted. He raised the sword above his head and brought it down. Cloud rolled out of the way, sprang up into the air above Cef, and brought his sword down on Cef. Cef parried upwards with enough force to sufficiently send Cloud rolling backwards through the air.

"Deeper into the crater," Cef's mother whispered, "You're almost there." Cef leaped over Cloud, kicking him backwards as he went, sending Cloud down farther into the crater's depths. Cloud lost his momentum as he came into the last chamber of the Northern Cave. Huge brown walls were smooth and rounded, surrounding a large hole, inside of which, pulsating Lifestream flowed freely, causing dozens of rocks of various shapes and sizes to float around lazily in the abyss.

Cef stabbed at Cloud with both swords, pushed off of Cloud's raised Buster Sword with them into a flip and kicked at Cloud's back from behind him. Or at least he would have, had someone not grabbed his foot and pulled him away from Cloud. Cef looked up from the ground to see Tifa standing over him, holding his foot. Cef kicked upwards and Tifa grabbed his other foot as well, which was what Cef wanted. He sprang off the ground with his arms to do an extremely powerful double-kick, sending Tifa flying. Tifa recovered in the air and landed next to Cid and Aeris.

"Cef stop!" Aeris shouted, "Can't you see that what you're doing is wrong?"

"I know that it might seem strange to you," Cef said to Aeris, "But trust me. This is for your own good. Now, stay out of my way!" Cef leaped at the three of them, brutally kicking Cid and Tifa to the side, and grabbed Aeris. Cef flew up the path, depositing her in the rocky cavern he had just come from. Cef turned back to Cloud, Tifa, and Cid, ready to fight all three at once if need be.

"Stay out of this," Cloud said. Tifa and Cid looked at him with confused stares on their faces, "Cef needs to fight me. Not any of you."

"So you're starting to get it," Cef said.

"Yeah, I think I understand," Cloud said.

"Aeris!" Cef shouted, "Do you have a Restore Materia?"

"Yes," Aeris said, unsure what Cef wanted.

"Heal us up to our top strength," Cef said, "When I beat Cloud, I want to make sure it's fair."

"Okay," Aeris said uneasily. She used the Materia, rainbow-colored light floated around Cloud, healing the various injuries on his body. Cloud instantly felt new strength surge through his body. Even the effects of sleep deprivation seemed to ware off. The same light settled on Cef's body, bringing him up to a whole other level of power.

"Alright Cloud," Cef said, "Let's end this."

---

Cara stepped carefully down the rocky path. She had been worried monsters would attack her, but it seemed as though the path had already been cleared. She stumbled upon the rotting carcass of one of the beasts quite often. She thought it would be easy, until a huge dragon with black scales flew up from the depths beneath her. It roared at her, appearing to be infuriated at her mere presence. Cara fell back in terror as the dragon advanced on her, growling like a lion. Cara crawled backwards, trying to get away from the huge reptile, until it snapped at her. She shot up and began running back up the path, not even looking where she was going, until she slammed into something and fell on her behind for the second time in as many minutes.

Cara looked up to see someone huge standing over her. Muscles stretched across his entire body, a vest over a metal stomach bracer, and a mechanical gun grafted to his arm.

"Get down!" Barret shouted. Cara flattened herself onto the ground and Barret unleashed a barrage of bullets at the monster, but he stopped when Yuffie did a hand spring off his head and threw her shuriken at it while she was in the air. The two of them completely decimated the dragon, Barret finishing by hurling its corpse off the path. After that, another figure, clad in red, softly fell from above them, clenching a gloved hand as it stood up.

"Who are you?" Vincent asked Cara.

"Her name's Cara," Red XIII said, hopping down the rocks behind Vincent, "And she happens to know Cloud."

"Who're we missin'?" Barret asked.

"Cait isn't here yet," Yuffie said.

"Then it's fine, we don' need him anyway," Barret said.

"I heard that!" Cait Sith shouted as he parachuted down the crater, landing next to them.

"I used to have one of these," Cara said, kneeling down and picking Cait up, "You're so cute, aren't you mister kitty," she said as she poked his nose.

"Gah, stop that!" Cait yelled, swinging his arms around at her, "I'm a member of the team, just as important as any of them."

"Bet you can't handle yourself in a fight," Yuffie smirked.

"There's more to life than just fighting," Cait said angrily.

"Can we get down to business?" Vincent asked, irritated.

"Yes, let's," Red said.

"Are you all here because of Cef?" Cara asked the group.

"If we're here to save that punk from something, count me out," Yuffie said, beginning to turn and walk away.

"No, that's not why you were called here," Cara said, staring at the ground.

"No, Cef's not in trouble," Vincent said, "Cef is the trouble, isn't he, Cara?"

"...Yes," Cara whispered.

"What's he doin'," Barret asked.

"That's just it, we don't know," Cara said, "He just went crazy and attacked Cloud."

"So there were no signs that something was wrong before this?" Vincent asked.

"No, there were," Cara realized, "Cef's been acting strangely for about a week."

"I think Cloud can handle himself in a fight," Yuffie said, beginning to walk away.

"We don' wanna kill him!" Barret shouted at her.

"Barret's right," Cait said.

"Fine," Yuffie said, "Let's get this over with." The group began making the journey down into the crater, following the trail of decimated monster bodies to the inner-most part of the crater.

---

Cloud and Cef leaped around the huge chamber at remarkable speeds, slashing and parrying several times a second before ever hitting the ground. They flipped, rolled, span, dodge, blocked, and struck, attacking each other from every angle. Cloud brought himself into a massive spinning kick by pushing off the wall and slinging his leg behind him with the centrifugal force turning his leg into a deadly weapon. Cef leaped over the appendage and swung his sword at Cloud's body, to which Cloud parried and the two of them flipped off each other's swords and landed on opposite sides of the entrance to the deepest levels of the Northern Cave.

The two of them leaped into the air above the large hole simultaneously. Cef pulled himself up a little higher than Cloud and knocked him down into the green abyss. Cef dived after him, the two of them, repeatedly clashing their weapons together as they fell into the spiraling Spirit Energy.

---

"Do you hear that?" Cara asked the group, "It sounds like people fighting."

"We're almost at the end," Vincent said, "Presumably, that's where Cloud and Cef are."

"This is gonna be dangerous," Yuffie said.

"We'll go first," Barret said to Cara, "If Cef has gone mad, we'll be able to handle ourselves if he attacks."

"I can fight too!" Cara shouted.

"Yeah, you handled yourself expertly against that dragon," Yuffie smirked.

"That was different!" Cara shouted, her cheeks flushed with anger.

"Cara," Red XIII said, "I know how you must be feeling. But if you recklessly go in there, you may never come back out again," he nuzzled her hand with his nose, "Don't worry, I'll make sure that Cef comes back to you. And if everything is alright, we'll bring you in."

"Fine," Cara said grumpily.

"Cait," Red XIII said, "Stay here with her."

"Will do," Cait said.

"Alright, let's go!" Yuffie shouted. The four of them sprang into the room just in time to see Cloud and Cef fall into the huge abyss.

"The hell you been!?" Cid yelled at them.

"Hey, you called us in the middle of the night telling us to come here, with no explanation whatsoever, so don't blame us," Yuffie said.

"Well, you're too late," Aeris said. Yuffie, Red XIII, and Vincent hadn't noticed her until then, and all of them nearly jumped at the mere sight of her.

"H-how..." Yuffie stuttered.

"I too am curious," Vincent said.

"Cef revived her a while back," Barret said, "Not quite sure how he did it, though."

"Accordin' to Cloud," Cid said, "Cef broke a Revive Materia, which released all the energy it contained, which brought her back."

"I don't think that would be enough," Red XIII said, "But I think I do know what might have happened. In our study of the Planet, me and a few others have begun speculating that clusters of Spirit Energy, which form living beings, remain linked together due to various conditions. For example, a mother and child would be linked together, and after they died, their Spirit Energy would take the form of another mother and her child. With that much energy, Cef might have been able to pull on the link between him and Aeris, which was probably formed hundreds of years ago between a brother and sister, and put her soul back into her body."

"That's all great," Tifa said, "But right now Cef and Cloud are both down there fighting."

"So do we need to help fight?" Yuffie asked.

"Cloud said that he needed to fight the battle alone," Tifa said.

---

Cloud and Cef hopped between the stone platforms, slashing at each other whenever they came near, until they reached the bottom of the massive chamber. There, they saw a bizarre structure. Several pinkish, thorny branches twisted and intertwined, forming a massive apparatus, at the center of which was a huge piece of Materia. It glowed a soft electric blue and was slightly transparent. But it was what was inside the Materia that caught Cef's eye the most.

"...Father?" Cef said, as if he was asking the body encased in the Mako-Crystal. Cef reached his hand out to touch the crystal.

"Cef don't!" Cloud yelled.

"Do it!" Cef's mother told him in his ear, "This is what you came for, now do it!"

"Hey guys, get down here!" Cloud called up to the group.

"We're on our way!" Tifa called down to him. The eight of them began to descend the large floating rocks towards where Cloud and Cef were.

"Father," Cef said again, this time with a new certainty.

"Cef stop, I'm begging you!" Cloud yelled. Ignoring him, Cef reached his hand out, hesitated for a moment, then touched the crystal.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Battle of the Heroes Part 2: The Father, the Son, and the Unholy Spirit

Cef reached his hand out, hesitated for a moment, then touched the crystal. Ripples spread across the surface of the crystal like a pond, but it felt solid to Cef's touch. The crystal began glowing, or maybe it was Sephiroth's body inside it. Cef wasn't sure, but he knew it was blindingly bright. A massive pure white light shot from the inside of the crystal as Sephiroth's body began to rise up. The body passed through the fluidic crystal, ripples in the blue stone extending from his body. Sephiroth alighted on the brown rock, completely naked, down on one knee with his head bent low, his hair hanging down in front of his face.

"Father?" Cef asked for the third time. Sephiroth lifted his head and stared into his son's eyes. Sephiroth slowly and dramatically got to his feet and stood up, black strands of smoke sprouting from the ground beneath his feet wrapped around his body and formed clothes and the Masamune in his hand.

"Hurry!" Cloud yelled up to the group as they descended deeper into the crater.

"Cef, my son," Sephiroth said, placing his hand on Cef's shoulder, "It's been so long since I last saw you. You've grown quite a lot."

"Sephiroth!" Cloud yelled, brandishing his sword, "Stay away from him!"

"Are fathers not allowed to see their sons anymore?" Sephiroth asked sarcastically.

"What kind of father leaves their family for five years then tries to destroy them!?" Cloud yelled.

"The kind who gets unjustly murdered," Sephiroth spat back at him.

"Cef," Cloud said, turning his attention to the smaller silver-haired person there, "C'mon, don't do this. Think about what he is, what he's done. You can't possibly side with him."

"He is my father," Cef said, "We're a family. And together, we'll destroy the ones who want to break that family apart."

"Damn, this day jus' keeps gettin' worse, doesn't it?" Cid said as the group came up behind them.

"This is it, Cef," Sephiroth whispered into his son's ear, "We have to destroy all of them."

"All of them?" Cef said, staring up at his father, "I don't want to kill them all."

"They're his allies," Sephiroth said, "They'll follow him, even after his death."

"But, Tifa helped me a lot, and Aeris is one of the one's I'm trying to protect," Cef said.

"We could spare Aeris," Sephiroth said, "But, as sad as it may seem, Tifa must return to the Planet with the rest of them."

"I've had enough of this!" Barret yelled. He and Vincent open fired on Sephiroth, making sure to aim high to avoid Cef. Sephiroth dodged out of the way of the bullets, leaping across the rock platforms to come around from their side. Vincent and Barret followed his path, but all they hit was air and stone. Sephiroth flew along the path, his feet barely skidding along the rocks, and came straight at them. The entire group attacked him at once, with Barret hanging back to let loose a constant stream of bullets, Vincent leaping about the platforms and shooting around the others, and the rest jumping straight at Sephiroth.

Sephiroth blocked a strike from Cid's spear and forced him into the rock, deflected Yuffie's shuriken back at her, smoothly dodged a kick from Tifa and kicked her himself, and pounded a whimpering Red XIII into the ground when he attempted to pounce on Sephiroth. Cloud leaped up and attacked Sephiroth with the Buster Sword, but Sephiroth merely flipped over Cloud, grabbed his shirt collar, and threw him into Barret. Vincent, being the only one currently on his feet, launched himself at Sephiroth, firing his gun as he flew through the air. He knew the bullets would be ineffective, but he was only using them as a distraction. As Vincent got closer to Sephiroth, he readied his clawed hand for a deadly strike. Just when Sephiroth was in range, Vincent did an uppercut with the sharp glove, but Sephiroth caught the hand in his own.

"No tricks for you," Sephiroth smirked. He viciously clenched his hand closed, snapping the bones in Vincent's hand like twigs. Vincent gripped his mangled hand, yelling in pain, when Sephiroth kicked him up into the air once then delivered a spinning back-kick, sending Vincent flying.

By this time, the rest of the group had gotten up from being reduced to so much quivering body mass by Sephiroth. They attacked simultaneously in a hailstorm of blades, teeth, fists, and bullets. Sephiroth parried, dodged, countered, and attacked, humbling them all. Cloud clashed blades with Sephiroth, trying to distract him from a recently-healed Vincent who was sneaking up on him.

"You know you're outclassed, Cloud," Sephiroth smirked, "I could kill all of you right now on my own if I wanted to."

"That's your problem, Sephiroth," Cloud said, "You don't know how to work in a team." At that moment, Vincent pounced on Sephiroth. Vincent slipped his arms underneath Sephiroth's and clasped his hands together behind Sephiroth's neck. Immediately, the rest of the group sprang into action. Barret and Cid grabbed Sephiroth's arms while Tifa and Yuffie wrapped themselves around his legs. Together, the five of them held the monster of a man in place.

"Finish it, Cloud!" Red XIII yelled. Cloud brought his sword up for one final blow, but Cef tackled him to the ground before the attack could be executed. The five holding Sephiroth were momentarily stunned by Cef's actions, which caused them to slightly relax their grip on him, which was more than enough for Sephiroth to break free of their grasp, sending them all flying in various directions.

"This is it," Cef said sadistically. Cloud's sword had landed about three feet away, outside of Cloud's reach, and Cef was on top of him with his sword raised to strike. Just before Cef made the kill, Red XIII pounced on him, knocking Cef away from Cloud. Cef landed near Sephiroth, who helped him to his feet. The two of them stared down their enemies, surrounded and outnumbered.

---

Cara was sitting on a hard rocky outcrop, her legs dangling over the edge and Cait Sith sitting on her lap. She absent-mindedly stroked Cait's head, but what she was really thinking about was Cef. Shortly beforehand, she had heard Tifa call out that they were going to head into the deeper regions. She wondered what Cef could have done to make them all have to run to Cloud's rescue. Cara sighed, staring at the unsheathed katana lying next to her. The silver blade made her think of Cef. Cara grabbed the handle of the sword and stood up, nearly catapulting Cait off the edge of the rock.

"What are you doing!?" Cait yelled as he dangled off the ledge, trying to pull himself up.

"I'm going down there," Cara said, sheathing the blade.

"But we were told to wait here!" Cait protested.

"I don't care," Cara stated, "Cef's in trouble, and he needs me right now, so I'm gonna go to him."

"Fine," Cait sighed, "But I'm coming with you." Cait hopped up on Cara's shoulder and the two of them made for the inner chamber.

---

Cef and Sephiroth stood back-to-back, fighting off seven attackers at once. Aeris hung back and healed the injured with her Restore Materia while Cloud led the assault on the two silver-haired people there. Cef and Sephiroth attacked viciously, and the seven made their best attempts to protect each other. One would dive in to parry what would otherwise be a killing blow on their teammate, even if it meant leaving themselves open. But they didn't have to worry, a friend would make sure that they didn't get hurt.

"C'mon Cef, stop this!" Tifa yelled. Cef answered her only with a ruthless sword strike. Tifa back-flipped away from Cef to dodge the attack and Yuffie threw her shuriken at Cef's exposed side. Cef parried the shuriken behind him by stretching his other arm back and flicking the sword up, sending the shuriken back to Sephiroth, who caught it in his right hand and threw it at Red XIII. Red caught it between his teeth and hurled it back to Yuffie. Cloud leaped in the air and delivered a crippling overhead strike at Sephiroth, but Sephiroth flipped backwards, landing with his feet angled as if he was going to jump forward outside the range of the attack.

Sephiroth pushed up with his legs almost immediately after doing the flip, flipping forward this time and landing on the blunt side of Cloud's blade. Cloud heaved the sword up and Sephiroth leaped off of it above Cef. Cef raised one of his katanas with the flat of the blade to Sephiroth so that he could land on it. Cef threw Sephiroth back at Cloud while parrying a strike from Cid and Sephiroth flipped over Cloud, landing with his feet on Barret's chest. Sephiroth pushed off of Barret, sending Barret flying and launching Sephiroth backwards into Cloud. Cloud and Sephiroth flew backwards with Sephiroth's momentum pushing them along. and Cef spun around, his spinning motion delivering a slash that would cut Cloud's back open but leave Sephiroth unharmed.

Vincent leaped out and grabbed Cef by the shirt collar, pulling him high into the air before Cef could harm Cloud. High above the rest of the battle, Cef and Vincent fought each other. Vincent was outclassed, until he underwent a startling transformation.

"What the hell!?" Cef yelled as huge, demonic wings extended from Vincent's back. The purple monster flew at Cef, claws and teeth ready to strike. Cef leaped above the beast, placed his feet on its back and drove it down into the ground. The group on the ground leaped out of the way to avoid the two of them as they fell, with Chaos thrashing around, trying to get at Cef. They smashed straight through the rock platform and began spiraling towards the pulsating green core at the center of the planet.

Chaos bared its teeth in anger and a red aura began to surround it. The light expanded slowly, then, without warning, exploded into a massive shockwave that sent Cef flying about halfway back up the chamber. Cef recovered in the air and alighted gracefully on the ground as Chaos flew up back at him. Cef readied his swords to fight the beast, but Sephiroth intercepted Chaos on its flight path and delivered several powerful sword strikes. Chaos fell to one of the rock platforms and reverted to an unconscious Vincent. Sephiroth raised his sword up to kill Vincent, but all the remaining group members launched at him at once, forcing him to retreat back up to where Cef was.

While Aeris used a Restore Materia to try and heal Vincent's various injuries left over from his beating at the hands of Sephiroth, Cef and his father stared down their six attackers. Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Cid, Yuffie, and Red XIII attacked from all sides, trying to overwhelm the evil pair.

"You can't win, Cloud," Cef smirked as he and Cloud clashed their swords together, "As long as we stand together as a family, me, my father, and my mother, are incapable of losing."

"You're just as much an egomaniac as Sephiroth," Cloud growled.

"An egomaniac is obsessed with himself when he doesn't deserve it," Cef stated, "I, however, do. I am what my father always wanted to become." Cef kicked Cloud back. "I am a mix of Jenova's power, and the Cetra's wisdom." Cef leaped above Cloud and brought his swords down on him. "I am a being of such omnipotence, all life kneels or withers at my very command." Cef pushed off of Cloud's sword and flew into the air. "My father wanted to force the Planet to give him the Lifestream, but, as a Cetra," Cef sheathed one sword and put that hand into the air above his head, "I can simply ask and take it!"

The Spirit energy that made up the huge vortex of Lifestream stopped its constant movement, then began to move inwards, towards the center, where Cef was. The green strands converged on the center of Cef's body, causing his entire frame to glow a bright green. The light grew more intense, illuminating the entire chamber, and soon it was blindingly bright, causing all the people there to shield their eyes, except for Sephiroth, who stared on with the same proud look a father would have if his son had just won a school sporting event. Cef yelled as the sensation grew too intense for his body to handle, his fists clenched, his muscles tensed, and his teeth ground, but soon it was over.

The entire chamber was dark. The Lifestream, which had once flowed along the walls and kept the chamber lit, was now completely gone. The only thing that allowed them to see was a soft, pulsating green light coming from Cef's body as he slowly descended unto the ground. Two huge, black, feathered wings stretched out from either side of Cef's back, each one at least six feet long. The wings were turned on their side so as to make Cef fall slower. When he gently touched down, the wings folded behind his back. Cef lifted his head and opened his eyes, staring at the six who were trying to fight him. Cef's eyes were green, but not just the iris, like they had been before, the entirety of his eyes now glowed a bright green from the Lifestream in his body.

"It is done," Cef stated. When he spoke, thousands of voiced could be heard; the voices of the people that made up the Lifestream before he had taken it.

"What do you mean?" Cloud demanded.

"Fighting me now would be futile," Cef said, "I have achieved a state of existence that you could not even comprehend. Your weapons would crumple like tissue before they even got close to me."

"Cloud," Tifa said, her voice trembling in fear, "We should leave. Now."

"I'm afraid that's not an option," Cef stated, "My perfection is not yet complete. Small pieces of the Lifestream still litter this planet. I need to become one with all of them, and to do that, they must all return to the Planet. You shall be the first to return, and become one with me."

"Cef, listen to your-" Cloud began.

"Silence!" Cef cut him off, "What impudence, to try and convince a god to stop his plans."

"You're no god," Cloud growled, "Gods protect and create, gods nurture and love, and care more about their creations then they do themselves."

"I can create," Cef said. He stretched his arm out in front of him, with the hand open and the palm facing the ground. Strands of the Lifestream extended from his fingertips and formed a human infant, crying as it lay on the hard rock. "I can give life, but I can also take it away." The baby dissipated into strands of Spirit Energy and returned to Cef's body. "Now, you shall all share the fate of that child." At that moment, Cef heard footsteps echoing from the higher reaches of the chamber. He looked up and saw Cara descending into the lowest reaches of the crater.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Battle of the Heroes Part 3: God's Cannot Deny Truth

Cara made her way over the treacherous terrain, hopping along the rocks that were closest together. Cef flew up to her, his massive wings flapping behind him as he rose up through the dark chamber. Just as Cara was about to jump to the next rock, Cef rose up directly in front of her. Cara screamed at the shock and fell back, and Cef stretched a wing out and around, catching her before she hit the rock. Cef pulled her closer to him by wrapping the wing tighter around himself and held her in his arms when she was close enough. Cef hugged her tight with his arms and wings, but the sickly feathered appendages did nothing to warm Cara's flesh.

"Cef," she said tentatively, "What's happened to you?"

"I have become greater than any who came before me," Cef said, stroking her hair, "All the power of the Planet now resides within me. Everything you want, everything you deserve, I can give you now."

"What are you talking about?" Cara said, pushing herself away from Cef.

"The Lifestream, the river of life that circles our Planet," Cef said, lifting his head up, "I have taken it into myself. What my father wanted to do, I have achieved. All that's left now is to take the remaining pieces of it scattered across the planet, and then you and I can live in peace, just the two of us, for the rest of time."

"The... pieces?" Cara asked.

"Yes, the clusters of Spirit Energy that make life. The planet is covered in them, so I will have to take them into myself to become complete," Cef said, returning his gaze to her.

"Cef..." she said, resting her hands on his chest, "Are you saying that you're going to kill all those people?"

"No," Cef said, "That would be cruel and unnecessary."

"Then how?" Cara asked.

"They will cease to exist in their current forms," Cef said, "And exist again as a part of me."

"Then what's the difference?" Cara yelled.

"What?" Cef said, surprised.

"You're taking their lives from them!" Cara said, pushing out of Cef's embrace.

"They won't even feel any pain," Cef said.

"It doesn't matter," Cara said defiantly.

"Don't you realize," Cef began, "That with the power I will obtain, you and I could live forever? We could do whatever we wanted. We could even remake the world the way we want it to be; the way it should be."

"You have no right to do that!" Cara said, "No one has the right to."

"The right?" Cef said, "My ancestors were the ones who deserved to keep this planet. And if the stupid humans hadn't come along, the planet wouldn't be dying like it is now. If the humans hadn't come along, Shinra wouldn't have stolen all the life out of this planet. I have every right to reclaim what is rightfully mine!" Cef rose into the air as he said these words, flexing his huge wings.

"You're wrong, Cef," Cara said. Cef lowered himself back down to where she was.

"Are you saying it isn't the humans fault that the planet's in it's pathetic state?" Cef said.

"No," Cara said.

"Then are you saying the Cetra shouldn't have been allowed to keep their land?" Cef said.

"No," Cara answered again.

"Then how am I wrong?" Cef yelled.

"Because," Cara said, "No person should be able to force their will on others."

"But I'm so much more than a person now," Cef stated, "I am a god! And have all the privileges therein! I have every right to remake this world the way I want it to be! I could revert you to Spirit Energy right now if I wanted, but because I am merciful, I will allow you to live, and together, we will rule this universe!" Cef spiraled into the air as he said this, shot his wings out to either side and made a huge shockwave of Spirit Energy shoot out of his body. The wave knocked Cara off her feet and she began crying as she laid on the rock.

"Cef, stop this!" Cloud called up from the lower reaches of the chamber.

"Silence!" Cef shouted, sending a focused wave out at Cloud, which he dodged. Cef looked back at Cara to see her crying. "Cara? Why are you crying?"

"Because of you!" Cara shouted at him through her tears, "You sound exactly like Sephiroth! Don't you remember? You always hated him for the things he did, but now you plan to do the exact same thing. You already have done it!"

"Cef don't listen to her!" Cef's mother said in his ear, "Remember, it wasn't his fault, it was Cloud's."

"It wasn't his fault," Cef said, "It was Cloud's."

"Was it Cloud who killed Aeris!?" Cara shouted, "Was it Cloud who burned Nibelheim to the ground? Did Cloud summon Meteor that killed your mother, along with thousands of others?"

"No," Cef admitted, "But he-"

"But he what!?" Cara yelled as tears streamed unchecked down her cheeks.

"He made my father do it," Cef said, "He gave him the Black Materia, he threw him into the Lifestream. My mother wouldn't lie to me."

"Cloud threw Sephiroth into the Lifestream," Cara said, "To stop him on his murderous rampage!"

"What...?" Cef said, staring down at the group beneath him.

"And Cloud didn't give him the Black Materia," Cara said, "Your father used Cloud like a puppet to deliver it to him!"

"That-" Cef stuttered, "That can't be?" He flew down to his father. "Is this true?"

"Cef, don't get distracted," Sephiroth said, "Remember your goal."

"It's not my goal," Cef said flying back up to the rock where Cara was, "It's yours. Yours and that monster you call 'Mother.' But I'm different. I'm NOT evil! I'M NOT MY FATHER!" Cef screamed into the air. The Lifestream coursed out of his body through any opening it could. His pores, his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth, all acted as exits for the Lifestream to leave by. The long green strands shot out of his body faster than bullets and returned to the chamber walls and began flowing throughout the planet again. All occupants of the chamber shielded their eyes against the intense ball of light that formed around Cef's body as the strands got thicker and closer together, and finally, there was a bright flash, and when it settled, Cef stood on the rock with Cara, the way he had been before.

"Cef?" Cara asked hesitantly, "Is that really you?" Cef turned to her and opened his eyes to show her he was himself again.

"It's me," he said. Cara ran forward, threw her arms around his neck, and began repeatedly kissing him on various parts of his face.

"Thank God," Cara said, "I was afraid I'd lose you forever. Now we can finally go home."

"Not yet," Cef said, "There's still one more evil here." Cef looked off the edge of the rock at the 6'1'' silver-haired man staring back up at him.

"You would turn against your family," Sephiroth growled up at him.

"Of course not," Cef said, "Cloud, who gave me a home, is family. Tifa, who comforted me when I cried, is family. Aeris, who did everything in her power to look out for me, is family. Cara, who loved me unconditionally, is family. But you, if you and your mother are my family, then it's a family I don't want any part of."

"Hmph," Sephiroth grunted, "Then so be it. You're all going to die, but you Cef, you will die first." Sephiroth raised his sword in front of him and leaped into the air towards Cef.

"All children will surpass their parents one day, and my day is now." Cef drew his swords and dived down at Sephiroth. Father versus son. Light versus darkness. A battle for the ages.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Battle of the Heroes Part 4: Duel of the Fates

Cef fell down the massive chamber head first, his swords raised to strike as Sephiroth flew up at him, the silver blade of the Masamune reflecting the green around them. Wind caused Cef's hair to ripple behind him as he fell and caused Sephiroth's trench coat to remain pressed to his sides as he rose. As the distance between them closed, Cef raised his swords above his head and brought them down on his father. They locked blades together, released and repeatedly slashed at each other. Their swords clanged together but never slowed from the impact and huge orange flowers of sparks blossomed at every point of contact from the steel. Cef stabbed downwards and Sephiroth bent his waist to the side to avoid it, the blade passing through the gap made by the curve in his body.

Sephiroth put his right hand on the top of Cef's blade and began to swing him around in a massive circle before hurling him at a far away rock-platform with the centrifugal force giving him speed. Cef flipped backwards and landed gracefully on the rock, then used it as a base to push off of and flew back at Sephiroth. Cef flew towards Sephiroth with his back facing the taller man, and raised one sword behind himself to block the strike Sephiroth delivered. When their swords were grinding together behind Cef's back, he pushed off his own sword and raised himself into a flip that brought him above Sephiroth with one hand free to strike.

"Good," Sephiroth smirked as he realized Cef's plan, "But you didn't count on this." Sephiroth stomped on the rock platform with his heel, shattering the rock and causing him to fall through it, but it also caused a spire of earth to shoot up at Cef. Cef flipped with his sword extended, promptly slicing the rock in two to avoid being skewered. As Cef was regaining his footing from the maneuver, Sephiroth leaped up from underneath him, grabbed his shirt collar, and threw him high up into the air near the entrance to the chamber. Cef flipped backwards and landed with his feet on the underside of the lip of the rock, pushed off it and shot down at Sephiroth, who, with one uppercut-slash, shot him straight back.

"How can he be this strong?" Cef thought to himself as he composed himself on the edge of the rock. He dived back into the massive abyss, ready to continue the battle. He and Sephiroth continued the fight in the air, repeatedly clashing their blades together as the others merely watched.

"Cloud, shouldn't we help?" Aeris asked, concern for her brother lacing every syllable.

"This is Cef's battle," Cloud said, "We let him fight it. That's what he wants."

"How can you be sure?" Aeris asked.

"Because," Cloud said, "That's how I felt when I fought Sephiroth." Cloud stared up as Cef and Sephiroth leaped around the massive chamber, hacking at the other every time they got the chance. While they were in the air, Cef clashed one of his swords with Sephiroth with the other down near his leg. Cef slightly grinned as he brought the other blade up into a slash at Sephiroth's torso, but his grinning stopped when Sephiroth miraculously parried the blade with the last foot or so of his blade while keeping Cef's other sword occupied. He did this by raising his wrist while the sword was still grinding against Cef's, causing the end of the blade to come down, and it was long enough to stop the sword in its path.

Sephiroth pushed hard against Cef's blades, causing Cef to temporarily lose his balance, and delivered a strong horizontal slash. Cef quickly raised both his swords to block it and the force of it sent him flying back into the rising waterfall of Lifestream on the chamber walls. Sephiroth dived into the Spirit Energy after him and the two continued their battle beneath the veil of the green ethereal liquid. Cloud and the others could only make out vague dark silhouettes leaping around and clashing into each other as the two continued the battle. They wrapped all the way around the chamber and came near Cara. The rock she was standing on was close enough to the chamber wall that she could probably reach out and touch it if she wanted to.

Beneath the veil of Lifestream, Cef and Sephiroth fought, using the rock wall as a ground when they needed to land on something. Eventually, they came near a rock platform that was almost jutting into the stream, and Cef could barely make out a petite figure standing on it. He knew immediately who it was, and, unfortunately, so did Sephiroth. Sephiroth got a sadistic grin on his face before turning his head towards the figure.

Outside the Lifestream, Cara thought she saw the taller figure turn and look at her, and, so did Cloud.

"Cara, get away from there!" Cloud shouted as urgently as he could. Before she could comply, Sephiroth burst out of the green energy straight at her, followed closely by Cef. Cara screamed shrilly as the monster of a man flew at her, but she stopped when Cef intercepted him and clashed his swords against the Masamune. Cef's feet skidded along the ground as Sephiroth forced him backwards with his superior strength, causing small ditches to form in the rock as his heels quickly wore away at it.

"Cara," Cef grunted, "Get out of here."

"No, I'm going to help," she said defiantly.

"It's not safe," Cef said.

"You know, he's right, it really isn't," Sephiroth said.

"Shut up," Cef said before kicking Sephiroth as hard as he could in the stomach. In the split second that Sephiroth gasped for air, Cef kicked him again, this time sending him flying back towards the wall of Spirit Energy. Sephiroth reached an arm out behind him and grabbed a strand of Spirit Energy, gripping it tightly as it sailed him through the air. Cef followed suit, sheathing one sword and grabbing a strand that was moving in the same general direction as Sephiroth.

As the two strands of Lifestream twirled around each other, so did Cef and his father, however, unlike the Spirit Energy, Cef and Sephiroth ruthlessly clashed their blades together in a desperate attempt to try and defeat one another. Cef fought Sephiroth with all his strength, but it just wasn't enough. Sephiroth slammed the Masamune into Cef's sword so hard it shook Cef to the bones, and a push kick to his stomach caused Cef to fly away and land in a heap on a rock platform, his swords spiraling to lower rock platforms. Sephiroth landed on the platform and stood over him, twirling the Masamune around for one final taunt before the finishing blow.

"You see, Cef?" Sephiroth smirked, "You can't beat me. You never had a chance to begin with. You are merely a weaker version of me. Why did you think it was possible for you to win?"

"Because," Cef spluttered, "I had to try. You have to be stopped."

"Is that so?" Sephiroth asked sarcastically, "Well then, try and stop this." At that exact moment, Sephiroth's ears heard something. Most people wouldn't even have heard it, and those that did would have dismissed it as merely the sounds of the environment, but Sephiroth knew better. The sound of rock scraping came from a shoe on the rock, which meant someone was behind him. Sephiroth spun around and slashed at where a regular sized opponent's neck would be, but all he hit was air. He looked down and saw Cara ready to slash at his stomach with the katana she had taken from the ship's weapon locker.

Sephiroth shot his right hand down and grabbed Cara's neck, his thumb and middle finger touching behind her head. He lifted her bodily, raising her blue eyes to meet his green ones. Cara struggled to break free, her legs flailing uselessly beneath her and her hands desperately clawing at Sephiroth's.

"Insolent brat," Sephiroth growled at her, "To think you could sneak up on me." However, Sephiroth had made one, possibly fatal mistake. Cara was still holding her weapon. She slashed at Sephiroth's arm, the blade ripping through black leather and flesh. Sephiroth dropped her painfully on the ground, but at least she could breathe. Sephiroth gripped the underside of his upper arm where she had slashed him, then stared at the blood on his glove.

"Dammit!" Sephiroth shouted, "Do you have any idea how hard it is to get blood out of this coat!?" Sephiroth stood ominously over Cara as she scrambled to get back to her feet, raised his sword and was about to deliver the kill when Cef tackled his legs from behind, causing his knees to bend and forcing him to fall flat on his back.

"Leave her alone!" Cef shouted as the two of them crashed into the rock tangled together. Cef climbed out from underneath his father and moved to help Cara, but as soon as he was up Sephiroth painfully kicked him in the back with his heel, forcing him to the ground. Sephiroth sprang off the rock and grabbed Cef by the shirt collar and pulled him to his feet.

"You people are very annoying," Sephiroth growled. He curled his fingers into a fist and repeatedly and cruelly punched Cef in the stomach. Cef's knees buckled after the second punch and the only thing keeping him up was Sephiroth. Cara moved to attack Sephiroth with her sword, but Sephiroth spun Cef around and slammed him into her before releasing Cef's shirt collar, sending both children flying to another rock. Cef wrapped his arms around Cara and spun around so his back would hit the ground to protect her. When Cef opened his eyes after the impact, he looked down at the small blond girl in his arms and saw her shoulders bobbing up and down from sobs.

"Why are you crying, Cara?" Cef asked tenderly.

"Because," Cara began, "Because after all we've been through, this is how it's going to end."

"It's not going to end here," Cef said with determination flaring in his eyes, "I won't let it." He stood up, placing Cara on the rock next to him and jumped down to the lower platforms. Cloud was holding both of Cef's swords and Cef took them with a short lived thank-you before jumping back up to face Sephiroth.

"Ready for round two?" Sephiroth smirked.

"For someone so powerful," Cef said, "You sure are a pompous ass." A vein bulged in Sephiroth's temple for a moment, but then he regained his usual composure.

"Hmph," Sephiroth grunted, "You'll learn to be more respectful towards your father," Sephiroth turned and faced Cef head-on, "Even if it kills you."

"If you ever get a teenager to be respectful," Cef began, "You'll be remembered as more than just a warrior and a villain." Cef and Sephiroth stared each other down for one more second, then leaped through the air at each other.

As they repeatedly clashed their blades together, Sephiroth realized that Cef was stronger than he had originally thought. Sephiroth doubted that Cef had been holding back; he thought that Cef was merely more driven to protect his little girlfriend. In credit to Sephiroth, he was right. Cef was driven now more than ever, and as such he fought harder. He parried a little faster and brought his swords down a little more fiercely. Sephiroth decided that if Cef was giving it is all, he should too.

It was quite a pitiful sight. Sephiroth swung his sword at Cef, Cef brought his swords up to block it, and the Masamune clashed into his katanas hard enough that it felt like his atoms were shaking. Cef audibly gasped from the force of the blow, but Sephiroth didn't skip a beat. He delivered a series of slashes that Cef had no chance of blocking, so he tried to jump out of the way. Unfortunately, with Sephiroth's extended range, Cef still got slashed with the tip of the sword at various points over his body, having the basic effect of a bull whip. Cef collapsed in a heap on one of the lower rock platforms.

"Cef!" Cara screamed in a high, piercing voice. Sephiroth landed on the same rock platform as Cef and slowly advanced towards the quivering boy as Cara rushed towards them.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with me?" Sephiroth asked, "Last chance to change your mind." Cef raised his head and stared at his father, anger burning through his green eyes and stray strands of silver hair hanging down across his face.

"I would rather die," Cef spat, "Then go along with you."

"So be it," Sephiroth sighed. He seemed almost regretful, then the monster in him took over again. He raised his sword up and got ready for the final strike.

"Leave him alone!" Cara yelled. She rammed into Sephiroth with all her might, barely budging him an inch. She, however, did land on her behind on hard rock.

"We've been through this before," Sephiroth said as he turned to face Cara, "But this time you're definitely going to die." He brought his sword down on her and she quickly raised her own to block it. Cara rolled out of the way and sprang to her feet, then proceeded to clash blades with Sephiroth. To give credit where credit is due, Cara lasted longer than probably any other twelve-year-old girl on the planet would. However, that still isn't saying much. In less than thirty seconds, Sephiroth had her on her back against the floor again.

"Give up now," Sephiroth smiled evilly as he leaned over her.

"You!" Cara shouted. She kicked with all her strength at Sephiroth's crotch in a last ditch effort to damage him, but Sephiroth shot a hand down and grabbed her foot, then began squeezing it between his fingers, slowly and painfully crushing the bones in her foot. Cara screamed and thrashed around to get away, but nothing she did worked.

"I told you this would happen," Sephiroth said. He swung Cara over his head and slammed her into the rock with enough force to crush every bone in her body. Cara winced as she got ready to feel the painful rock flattening her, but instead she only got a mild pain in her stomach. She opened her eyes and saw that she was being held by Cef, who had rushed out and saved her at the last minute. As Cef stood there with Cara on his arm, his hair blowing in the tunnel wind, a katana in either hand, and blood and sweat coating his tight muscles, Cara remembered why she fell in love with him in the first place.

"I told you to leave her alone," Cef said heroically. He set Cara down and immediately sprang at Sephiroth. The two battled on the rock, Sephiroth trying to push past Cef to get to the blond girl sitting behind him, and Cef constantly jumping in his way.

"I won't let you hurt her!" Cef shouted. The two of them clashed their blades together and began pushing against each other, both trying to overpower the other.

"You think you can overwhelm me?" Sephiroth smirked. He gave it his all and shoved against Cef as hard as he could, causing Cef to nearly fall backward, but by sticking one sword out underneath him into the rock, he was able to keep himself up. Cef kicked at the side of Sephiroth's blade, knocking Sephiroth off his balance for a moment. Cef followed through with the motion, using the momentum from his kick to pull himself up into a back flip-kick, pulling his sword out of the rock and kicking his father in the chest with both feet. Cef pushed off Sephiroth, twirled acrobatically in the air and landed next to Cara, ready to continue the fight. The force of Cef's kick knocked Sephiroth off the rock and below their sightline.

"It can't be over just like that," Cara said. Cef nodded in agreement and went to check, peering over the edge of the rock. He didn't see anything, but he suddenly heard Cara scream. He turned on his heels and saw a sword blade sticking out of the rock and inch away from Cara. Cef dropped to his stomach and hung his over the edge so he could see beneath the rock and saw Sephiroth beneath the rock, holding his sword which was half-submerged in the rock. Cef bolted back up and saw Cara desperately trying to avoid the sword blades that were shooting up through the ground at her, however, her own footsteps gave away her location to Sephiroth. Cef thought of only one solution that fit their universe's desire for over-the-top action, grabbed Cara's katana and shoved it into the ground.

"Hold on to this!" Cef shouted at her. Cara nodded, gripping the handle of the blade with both hands. Cef hung his head down and waited for Sephiroth to stick his sword in the rock again. The moment he did, Cef pushed against the rock as hard as he could, causing it to flip upside-down. Cara screamed as she dangled from the platform while Cef attacked Sephiroth above her.

Sephiroth shook his head to clear it of the dizzy-ness he felt (the Masamune's handle had painfully and comically smacked into his head when Cef flipped the rock) and got ready to face Cef, pulling his Masamune out of the ground (Cara let out a small shriek as the blade got sucked up out from in front of her eyes). The two of them battled on the rock until Cef pounded his foot into the edge, causing it to flip again. The battled under the rock, gripping the edges on it for handholds and repeatedly clashing their blades together.

Sephiroth kicked the rock behind him, causing it to flip in the opposite direction as it had been before and also causing the rock edge to smack into the back of Cef's head. Cef fell in a mild concussion and Sephiroth stood on the rock, enjoying the sound of Cara screaming for help underneath him. He put his toe on the blunt side of the blade sticking two inches out of the ground at his feet and wiggled it back and forth until it came loose. Underneath, Cara stopped screaming as she realized she was about to fall. Then she shrieked louder than she had yet. Cara plummeted into the spiraling green abyss with the katana in hand, but Cef leaped out to catch her.

"Stay here, I don't want anything to happen to you," Cef said.

"You'll be okay, right?" Cara asked as tears formed in her eyes.

"I promise," Cef said, smiling, "I'll come back, and we can go home. Or wherever else you want."

"Please, Cef," Cara said, "Be careful."

"I will," Cef said back. He kissed her briefly, then turned to face up at Sephiroth.

"How sweet," Sephiroth called from his place at the high rock, "Do you know what I think of sweet?" Cef tensed, knowing that something worse was about to come. "THIS!" Sephiroth shouted. He threw the Masamune high into the air and drove his heel into the rock platform, splitting it in half. He grabbed each half as he fell through and carried them, one in each hand, as he flew at Cef. Sephiroth smacked Cef away from his beloved and into the air, then followed after him.

"Cef!" Aeris cried from the rocks. Cloud held her back, assuring her that not helping was the best way they could help. Sephiroth flew at his son and pounded him with the rock halves, mercilessly smacking him across his entire body with the massive pieces of stone. Sephiroth hit Cef with the edge of one rock in his side and flipped him onto his back, then put both rock halves underneath Cef and flipped him into the air. When Cef came down, Sephiroth crushed him between the rocks three times, the third time the rocks shattered from the force of them hitting each other.

Cef fell and collapsed in a broken and bloodied pile on one of the rocks, unable to stand or move. Sephiroth flipped down and landed next to him, raised his hand up and caught the Masamune by the handle just as it came down next to him.

"How'd you like that, son?" Sephiroth asked sadistically. Cef pushed himself up on his arms and stared at Sephiroth, his arms shaking under the weight of his own body. He spat blood and dust out from his mouth at the ground and rose to stand, facing Sephiroth.

"I'm... I'm not..." Cef was finding it difficult to finish sentences. His head was pounding and spinning simultaneously while his body had lost a good portion of its blood.

"You're not what?" Sephiroth asked, "You're not going to win? You're not making it out of here alive? What is it?"

"Give..." Cef took a step forward, nearly falling over in the process, "Giving... up." Sephiroth sighed, staring at the ground.

"Then I'm afraid I have no choice," Sephiroth hit Cef across the face with the back of his hand, sending him flying across the rock platform and skidding two feet on his back. Cef rose shakily, his knees threatening to buckle under the weight of his own body, and stood to face his father once more.

"I told you," Cef grunted, "I'm not giving up. I'll finish this battle on my own, once and for all."


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Battle of the Heroes Part 5: Rage Awakened

Cef trudged onwards towards his father, one katana dragging along on the rock beneath him and the other raised in front of his face in defense. Sephiroth easily knocked it aside with his Masamune and kicked Cef in the ribs, sending him spinning through the air and crashing through the rock. Cef rose again, unsteady on his feet, and was quickly kicked away by Sephiroth again. Cef coughed as he laid on the ground, drops of spittle spraying on the ground beneath him. He looked up and saw Sephiroth approaching him, his black leather boots scraping against the ground.

"Son," Sephiroth sighed, "Why are you continuing to fight me? Don't you realize how much it pains me to hurt you like this? When we fight, we both suffer, but together, imagine what we could accomplish. The entire world could be ours, and all you have to do is give up."

"I don't believe you," Cef began, "Why would you all of a sudden start caring about me? You're just trying to trick me, but I'm not going to fall for it!" Cef swung one of his katanas sluggishly at Sephiroth, who easily blocked it, sending the sword careening out of his hand. Sephiroth swept Cef's legs out from under him with a kick and flattened him to the rock by pointing his sword tip at Cef's throat.

"I'm giving you the opportunity to be saved," Sephiroth growled, "I'm giving you the chance to live in peace. You would rather die simply walk away?"

"I'm not going to die," Cef grunted, "And I'm not going to run away either. I'm going to win!" Cef tripped Sephiroth with his legs and quickly caught him in the stomach with them, then kicked him up into the air, sprang up with his hands and tackled Sephiroth to the ground.

"Very good," Sephiroth stated as Cef sat on top of him, "But you're not nearly strong enough to hold me." With one arm, Sephiroth sent Cef flying into the side of another rock platform and tumbling down, smacking against the edges of various rocks until he slammed flat into one. Cef slowly raised himself on shaky arms, standing to look up at Sephiroth, however his father wasn't on the ledge where he had fallen from. Cef quickly turned his head both left and right, but he couldn't see Sephiroth, however he quickly realized where he was when a painful blow to his back sent him flying through one rock platform and onto another.

"Cef!" Aeris screamed in terror. She quickly raised her Restore Materia, aiming to revitalize her younger brother, until Sephiroth appeared in front of her and grabbed her wrist to try and stop her from using the Materia. Cloud quickly raised his sword at Sephiroth, but Sephiroth swung Aeris around by her arm and smacked her into Cloud then released, sending them both flying. Cloud took the brunt of the hit by getting behind Aeris so that he smashed into the rock and sheltered Aeris with his body.

"Are you alright, Aeris?" Cloud asked as the two of them stood up.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Aeris confirmed, brushing dust off her dress. She saw the Restore Materia on the ground a few feet from her, but before she could pick it up, Sephiroth jumped in front of her and grabbed it himself.

"We should return this Mako to the planet," Sephiroth smirked, tossing the Materia off the rock and into the Lifestream swirling beneath them.

"No!" Aeris shrieked, reaching an arm out as if she could catch it.

"Be quiet!" Sephiroth snapped, smacking her across the face with the back of his hand. Aeris fell to the ground, holding her cheek, and quickly scrambled to try and get back on her feet as Sephiroth approached her.

"Stay away from-" Cloud exclaimed before Sephiroth sent him flying with a kick.

"I can't believe I have to do this again," Sephiroth grunted as he raised his sword above his head, poised to strike at Aeris.

"Stay away from her!" Cef screamed as he flew at Sephiroth from above. Sephiroth looked up just in time to see Cef flying down at him with a sword raised to parry the strike. The two fought for a few seconds, Cef seemingly hovering in the air above his father and slashing down at him while Sephiroth parried and struck back. Finally, Sephiroth got annoyed and stepped to the side, causing Cef to fall to the rock. The two of them battled on the ground while Cloud jumped back and grabbed Aeris, returning her to watch with the others.

---

Cara stood on the rock Cef had left her on before being assaulted by his father and stared down at their battle. There were no rocks in the way between her higher perch and them, so she could see clearly that Cef was at an extreme disadvantage. Knowing that she had to help somehow, Cara stared off the edge of the rock nervously, pacing back and forth. Finally, she came to the conclusion that it was the only things she could do, and took a few steps back. She got herself ready, ran forward, and leaped off the rock.

---

Sephiroth slashed rapidly at his son, who parried all of the strikes as he searched frantically for an opening in Sephiroth's strategy, but he found none. Eventually, Sephiroth knocked Cef flat on his back and held the Masamune out to his side, ready to chop Cef in half and finish the battle.

"No!" Aeris shrieked. Cloud held her back again.

"Don't worry, Cef's about to get some help," Cloud stated.

"It's over, son," Sephiroth stated sadistically.

"For you maybe," Cef grinned. Sephiroth was confused for a moment, until something blond, the general size of Cef, and twelve years old smashed into him from above. Cara flattened Sephiroth into the rock with the force she had built up during her fall and rose shakily with a spinning head. Cef helped her up and raised his sword to finish the battle, but Sephiroth quickly rose to the side and grabbed Cef's shirt collar with three fingers of one hand and Cara's with the other two. He held them both up, causing the two children to press bodily together, blue eyes staring into green in desperation. The two of them dropped their weapons as Sephiroth growled at them.

"You shall go together," Sephiroth stated maliciously. He spun around and used the force to throw them both into the air together, then quickly followed them up with his sword raised. Cef saw his other katana lying on the rock where Sephiroth had sent it flying out of his hand and got an idea in his head.

"Cara, do you trust me?" Cef asked, knowing the idea he had would put her in danger.

"What?" Cara said, confused.

"Do you!?" Cef shouted as Sephiroth drew closer.

"Yes," Cara said worriedly.

"Good," Cef stated. He grabbed her by the wrist and swung her around, smacking Sephiroth in the face with her feet, painfully stunning him. He then continued the motion and swung her towards the rock and let go so she flew to the rock. Cara slammed into the rock a few inches from the sharp blade of the sword on it, but when she saw it, she quickly grabbed the hilt and threw it towards Cef, who caught it and flew down at Sephiroth. Cef raised his sword at his stunned father, aiming to finish the battle once and for all, but just as he came in range, Sephiroth suddenly recovered, quickly shooting upwards with his face right in Cef's. Sephiroth punched him in the stomach and threw him upwards, then flew upwards himself to follow him.

"Hey, Cara!" Cloud shouted, holding the swords Cef and Cara had dropped earlier. Cara nodded and leaped off the rock to another just as Cloud threw the weapons into the air. Cara caught them as they flew past her and landed on the rock, then quickly began to jump up the rocks at Cef and Sephiroth.

Cef and Sephiroth battled on the lip of the entrance to the great abyss while Cara leapt up towards them with her swords raised. Cef could barely keep up with Sephiroth, the various cuts, scrapes, and bruises along his body adding to the physical strain of having been fighting for so long. Cef was breathing heavily and his arms moved sluggishly to the point that to keep up at all he had to grip his katana in both hands. Sephiroth brought his sword on Cef in a downwards slash and Cef quickly raised his to block it. The two weapons grinded together above Cef's head as Sephiroth smirked at him.

"Tell me something," Sephiroth began, "Do you fear death? Does the thought of not waking up in the morning keep you awake at night? Is fear wracking your body as you realize that you cannot win this fight?"

"I might be afraid of dying," Cef grunted, "And I might be afraid of losing. But that doesn't mean I'm afraid of you!" Cef ducked underneath their sword blades and tackled his father, slamming into him with every bit of strength he had left. Sephiroth started back and nearly fell over, however he held firm. Sephiroth put a hand on Cef's head and easily pushed him over. Cef fell back and laid on the rock as Sephiroth moved towards him. However, before he could deliver the finishing blow, a menacingly sharp pain struck across his back. He dropped to his knees and turned to see Cara holding two swords, one in a position as if she had just slashed with it, complete with a small amount of blood glistening on the blade.

"Insolent brat!" Sephiroth roared. He dropped his sword and grabbed both her and Cef by the throat, one child in each hand, and raised them up into the air. He threw them down and they smashed together into a rock platform and Sephiroth held his hand out to the side. A strand of Spirit Energy moved into his hand and rolled into a ball, glowing intensely as it did, and when the glowing stopped, Sephiroth was holding a green crystal orb in his fingers. Sephiroth squeezed the orb and it began to glow brightly until the glow became fire that surrounded his arm.

Cef opened his eyes and saw Cara in a state of concussion, her head having hit the rock when they were sent flying by Sephiroth, causing a small gash near her right temple. The swords she had been holding had dropped onto a rock twenty feet away so he held the only weapon. He then noticed Sephiroth making a ball of bright red fire in his hand and was reminded of one of the nightmares he had had earlier.

"Let's see how you handle a Flare spell," Sephiroth grinned maliciously before throwing the ball of fire down at his son and his girlfriend. Cef blinked a tear from his eye, knowing that, after all this, he had finally lost, and, somewhere, deep within Sephiroth's mind, something snapped as he saw this. The fog that had been cast over his eyes for the past nine years finally cleared, the lies that had filled his head vanished, and he could see the world for what it truly was.

"What have I done…?" Sephiroth uttered as he watched the Flare speed towards Cef. Meanwhile, Cloud and the others were quickly making their way out of the abyss.

"I'll save you Cef!" Sephiroth shouted, flying down towards his son, racing with his own spell. He flew around the ball of fire as he fell downwards at the two children. Cloud, Tifa, Aeris, and the rest all quickly left the chamber, Aeris in tears, as they knew the explosion would be dangerous. They passed the point Sephiroth had been standing at moments before and waited at the same point they had four years ago before delving into the abyss for the first time.

"My son will not die here," Sephiroth grunted as he flew down at Cef. The Flare spell was close enough to tan his skin as Sephiroth descended and Cef looked up in awe as his father defended him for the first time in his life. As the spell grew closer, Cef wrapped the unconscious Cara in his arms to shelter her from the coming explosion. It was the most he could do in his pathetically weakened state. Sephiroth and the spell were both feet away, and finally, Sephiroth got between Cef and the Flare spell just as it would have hit him. A massive explosion filled the chamber and smoke spiraled up from the rock platform the three whose destinies had become intertwined were at.

Up on the ledge, nine onlookers watched in terror, not knowing what would happen next, and one in particular cried for her brother.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Dopo la Battaglia

Nine friends stood on the lip of a large rock, overlooking the chaos in the green abyss beneath them. A huge explosion had caused a massive pillar of smoke to rise out of the hole, making it nearly impossible for them to see, however they continued looking onward, hoping for any sign of the three who had been at the heart of that explosion. As the smoke slowly cleared where the explosion occurred and the group could see that there was nothing but scorched rock there, Aeris broke down crying, sobbing into her hands and arms, pulling her knees to her head as she sat on the rock and burying her face in her lap. Cloud knelt down next to her, rubbing her back comfortingly, while the other members of the group all paid homage in their own ways. Cloud contemplated silently, Tifa stared at the ground mournfully, Cid pulled his trademark cigarette out of his mouth and flicked it away, Barret lowered his head, Vincent turned away, his cape billowing behind him, and Red XIII howled like a lone wolf.

"It isn't fair," Aeris sobbed to herself, "Cef and Cara were so young; they didn't deserve this."

"An unfortunate tragedy on our planet," Vincent said coldly, "Many who live deserve to be killed, while many who die deserve life. A sad truth, but a truth nonetheless."

"He was a strange kid," Cid stated, "Just when you'd think he's a normal little boy, he'd do something' that makes you feel immature, but when you thought he could take care of himself, he'd show you how goddamned childish he was. But, I guess, he was a good kid, too."

"He didn't deserve half the pain he suffered," Tifa mourned, "But this horrible world gave it to him anyways."

"Poor kid," Barret lamented, "I don' think any of us'll forget 'im."

"I know how it hurts to not have a father you can look up to," Red XIII sighed, "But to be killed by your father… I can't even imagine how Cef must have felt."

"At least Cara went while she was sleeping," Yuffie mourned.

As the group lamented the loss of a friend, a black-gloved hand latched onto the lip of the rock, securing a grip by curling its fingers around a small bit of stone jutting out. The hand heaved and carried a black-clad arm up, followed by the body of the man whose hand and arm it was. Sephiroth slowly rose, pulling himself up until his head and shoulders which, along with the rest of his body, were stained black from ash, were well above the rock, allowing himself to rest on the edge. Cloud was the first to notice him, and immediately began brandishing his sword at the silver-haired man.

"Sephiroth…" Cloud growled, "How could you do this to your own son? How dare you come back here after what you did."

"Don't be so hasty, idiot," Sephiroth grunted. He heaved his other arm, as if it was carrying a great weight, onto the rock and, to the relief, happiness, and delight of the entire group, the great weight his other arm was carrying was Cef and Cara, both unconscious from the blast. They were covered in soot and had several scrapes across their body, including one particularly nasty gash on Cara's head, however neither of them were seriously hurt.

"Cef!" Aeris cried happily, running towards her unconscious brother and wrapping her arms around his small frame, "I can't believe you're all right!" The other members of the group followed suit, Cait using his small size to get close, Red XIII nuzzling the unconscious bodies with his nose like a large cat, and Tifa kneeling down to examine their injuries.

"You don't think that this changes anything between us, do you?" Cloud growled at Sephiroth.

"To be honest, Cloud," Sephiroth smirked, "I don't actually care what you think. My son's alright, and that's enough for me."

"Are you saying you actually care about him?" Cloud asked.

"I've always cared about him," Sephiroth lamented, "Even when we were fighting, I didn't want to hurt him, and gave him every opportunity to surrender peacefully, to come and live with me in peace, but he wouldn't, and I…"

"You what?" Cloud barked.

"I couldn't see the truth," Sephiroth admitted, "There was a fog over my eyes, and I was blind to the fact that Cef was doing the right thing by refusing me, so I continued the battle, but when I saw Cef cry, it hit me. Do you know what it's like? Watching your son cry because of something you did? Especially when your son was doing the right thing? No, of course you don't. You don't even have a son. But when I saw Cef cry, I realized that I was the monster, and that Cef had every right to try and stop me."

"Cara looks like she's hurt," Tifa commented, standing up from her kneeling position, "We should get them to the airship."

"Listen, all of you," Sephiroth said lowly, "I… I know I've hurt all of you in the past, and, well, I'm sorry."

"It's all square," Cid commented, "I mean hell, I hardly knew ya."

"Well, group," Cloud said, "Do you think we can trust him?"

"If we can't," Barret said, "Cloud and Cef could prob'ly take 'im."

"Don't think I've forgiven you for anything you've done," Tifa growled at Sephiroth, "I still hate you for Nibelheim."

"As I would of expected," Sephiroth sighed, "But rest assured, I will try to atone for what I've done, by whatever means necessary."

"…What…?" Cef moaned, slowly coming-to.

"Cef?" Aeris exclaimed, "Are you awake?"

"I… think so," Cef groaned, opening his eyes and slowly sitting up in his sister's embrace.

"Son, you have no idea how happy I am to-" Sephiroth began before Cef cut him off.

"Save it," Cef barked rudely, "Just leave me alone."

"But Cef, I-" Sephiroth stopped himself and sighed, "Very well, you have every right to hate me, I suppose."

"You're damn right I do," Cef growled, "What? Did you think that saving me from an explosion you caused would suddenly wipe away everything you've done?"

"You have to understand," Sephiroth pleaded, "I-, I wasn't in control of myself. I wasn't acting how a father should, but I'm going to change that from now on. I want to be a good father, but only if you'll let me."

"Why should I?" Cef growled, "You've never done anything for me. All you've done is hurt me."

"That's not true," Sephiroth pleaded, kneeling down to look Cef in the eyes, "When you were younger, I spent every moment I could with you and your mother. Every time I got a leave from duty I rushed to Midgar and spent all my time with you two. You were too young to remember, but the three of us had plenty of good times together as a loving family. With your mother gone, I can never recreate those moments we had, and I feel horrible for knowing it's my fault that she's gone, but believe me, I'll never do anything to hurt you from now on."

"Why should I believe you?" Cef asked, "How can I?"

"Please, son," Sephiroth begged, "Let me be your father. Let me be a positive part of your life, like I should have been before this whole ugly affair started. Think about what your mother would want." This last comment rang true to Cef. He had lived his entire life the past four years following his mother's words, and he knew she would want them to be as complete a family as possible. Cef chuckled to himself as something came to light as he thought about these things.

"What's so funny?" Sephiroth asked.

"It's just that," Cef began, "For a good portion of my life I hated you, and refused to accept that I was similar to you beyond our appearance, but I just realized that I've spent my life following my mother's advice. Ironic, no?"

"Cef, be serious," Sephiroth sighed.

"Well, I don't know," Cef stated, "I know what my mother would have wanted; she would have wanted all of us to be together, but I can't just pretend like nothing's ever happened."

"I won't force you to let me be a part of your life," Sephiroth said, "But please, son, not only for your mother, but for me as well. I don't have anything left in the world besides you. If I can't be a part of your life, I don't know what else I could live for."

"Cef," Aeris said softly, "Can't you see your father just wants to turn his life around? Doesn't he deserve a second chance?"

"How can you say that!?" Cef exclaimed, "You of all people! Think about what he did to you!"

"As far as I'm concerned," Aeris smiled, "That was Jenova."

"You can't be serious," Cef sighed, "Would mother really want you to forgive him?" And then, in a much smaller voice, Cef asked "Would she want me to?" At around that time, a long, thin strand of stray Spirit Energy floated up from the large chamber beneath them, breaking away from the Lifestream surrounding the chamber. It snaked its way up to Cef, twisting around his leg and body, up to his head, and the very tip of it hovered hear his eye, as if it was staring deep into his large, green orbs. Cef smiled as he realized what was happening and the strand of Spirit Energy almost seemed to nod back before returning to the rest of the Lifestream, brushing Cef, Aeris, and Sephiroth's cheeks as it went. The entire group looked after it as it was lost in the flowing green river it came from.

"Well, Cef?" Sephiroth asked, turning back towards his son, "Will you let me be your father?" Cef turned away from his thoughts and looked at the man, amazed at how much it seemed like he was looking in a mirror, and smiled.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Healing Wounds

To show his son how caring of a father he was, Sephiroth hoisted Cara's small frame up in his arms, careful not to touch the gash on her temple, and began carrying her up the cavern path towards the sky. The rest of the group followed him, Cef at his side, and all feeling uneasy about letting him, of all people, walk about like any member of their group. Cloud in particular was on edge, keeping his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"We need to get her wound treated," Sephiroth explained, "Since her head was hurt on rock, not to mention the ash from the explosion, it could become infected, which is why we need to get her fixed up."

"I could do it right now if you hadn't thrown my Materia into the Lifestream…" Aeris grumbled to herself.

"Don't worry, Cara," Cef said, brushing some hair out of her closed eyes, "I'll make sure you get through this." Tifa put a hand on Cef's shoulder and gave him an encouraging glance as they walked.

"Cait," Red XIII growled, "I told you to watch Cara to make sure this didn't happen."

"It wasn't my fault!" Cait Sith protested, "She was insistent on headin' in to help Cef!"

"Yeah, don't blame Cait," Yuffie said, "He gets enough hate from the fans."

"Cait has fans?" Vincent asked sarcastically.

"Exactly," Yuffie smirked.

"This is gettin' old…" Cait sighed to himself.

"Y'know what's really painful?" Cef said, "Cuts from a blunt rock."

"Sorry about that," Sephiroth apologized. The entire group gave him condescending looks of disappointment.

"That was a cool move though, right?" Sephiroth nervously asked them, "I just split it in half, and _boooosh._"

"I know, I was there," Cef said. There was a long silence for a while with the only sounds being the scrape of feet on rock and Cara's rhythmic breathing as the group ascended the cave. Cef occasionally brushed Cara's hair, or whispered something soothing to her as they climbed, however overall there was silence, until they finally got out of the cave and stood on the edge of the crater. While Cid made the call to the crew aboard the Highwind 3, Cloud reminisced about the crater.

"See that burn mark in the snow?" Cloud said, "Yeah, that's from Sephiroth's barrier, oh, and that crevice in the crater lip there? Yep, I fell out of that when Sephiroth summoned Meteor. Oh, and of course, that big hole over there is from when Cef and I fell off the Highwind. Yep… lot of memories here."

"You truly are amazing, Cloud," Vincent sighed.

"When will the ship be here?" Cef said impatiently, "Cara needs treatment."

"They're lowering altitude right now," Cid told him, "When they're low enough they'll put out the ladder."

"And did you mention that we have an unconscious girl who is incapable of climbing a ladder?" Cef asked.

"Yes," Cid sighed, "They're sending a stretcher down too. We can strap Cara right to Sephiroth's back."

"Why to my back?" Sephiroth asked.

"The hell you think!?" Barret growled.

"Stop bickering!" Tifa yelled, "God! You sound like freaking two-year-olds!" There was silence immediately until the Highwind 3's engines could be heard and a rope ladder with a Cara-sized stretcher lowered in front of them. Cef lifted Cara into it and strapped her in tightly, then Sephiroth tied it to his back and began climbing up the ladder, followed shortly by Cef and the rest of the group.

At the top of the ladder, Sephiroth reached a hand up and gripped the metal bar of the deck's guard rail, where a crew member grabbed his hand and helped him up, until he saw who he was and ran off in terror.

"NO!" the crew member called as he ran off, "I WANT TO LIVE!!"

"I suppose that's going to happen a lot," Sephiroth sighed before helping Cef up.

---

Cef carried Cara to the medical ward in the Highwind 3 and laid her down on a bed there. Much to Cef's protest, the doctor forced Cef to leave the room, telling him that he'd be able to watch from the monitor, which he did, until the doctor removed Cara's clothing to check the wounds over her body, at which point Aeris covered Cef's eyes. Cef eventually forced Aeris to let go of him, at which point Sephiroth wrapped his hand around Cef's head, covering his eyes.

"You're not allowed to look at any naked girls except your sister until you're fifteen," Sephiroth laughed.

"I don't care that the doctor took her clothes off!" Cef growled, "I just want to see her! It's my fault she's hurt in the first place!"

"You can wait until the doctor puts a hospital gown on her," Sephiroth said. Cef growled reminiscently of Red XIII and stopped struggling. After about a minute of the doctor examining her, he disinfected and bandaged all her wounds and put her in a makeshift gown, laying her to rest in the bed and covering her up with the blanket up to her chest. At that point, Sephiroth let his son go and Cef immediately glued his eyes to the screen.

"How bad were her injuries?" Cef asked, concern dripping off of every syllable.

"Not too bad," Sephiroth said, "Some nasty scrapes on her knees, elbows, and palms, bruises pretty much everywhere, but nothing too serious except for the gash on her temple, which the doctor disinfected and taped some gauze on. She'll be fine, trust me."

"I hope so," Cef sighed. Shortly afterwards, the doctor walked out and spoke to Cef.

"You can come back in now," the doctor said. Cef rushed into the room and sat down in a chair next to Cara's bed and intently watched her face.

"She's not going to change," the doctor said, "The wound on her temple became infected. I disinfected it, but because it was on her temple, it could have some longer-lasting repercussions."

"Well what does that mean!?" Cef cried, worried that Cara might be permanently damaged because of him.

"It means she'll be fine," the doctor reassured him, "She just has to rest. With the wound disinfected, it'll start to heal and she'll be back to normal in about a day, two days tops."

"Are you sure?" Cef asked, tears beginning to spill over onto his cheeks.

"Don't worry," the doctor said, "Just give her body some time to recover and she'll be fine."

"Couldn't we just use Materia?" Cef asked.

"Well, you could," the doctor said, "Except that since her body hasn't finished recovering from the infection, something Materia can't do on its own, there could be some serious repercussions. Better just to wait it out."

"Alright, I understand," Cef sighed.

"I'll leave you alone," the doctor said, walking out of the room. After he was gone, Cef took Cara's hand and tenderly stroked her fingers with his thumb.

"Hey, Cara," Cef said softly as if not to wake her, "I'm going to make sure that you get better, alright? Everything will be fine, trust me."

"How is she?" Aeris asked, walking into the room.

"The doctor said she just needs to rest," Cef said.

"Well that's good then," Aeris said before noticing Cef's torn-up expression. "Hey, Cef, what's wrong?"

"This is all my fault," Cef whimpered, "She's hurt because of me. If I hadn't lost control, Cara wouldn't be lying in a hospital bed." Aeris sighed and wrapped an arm around her younger brother, comfortingly rubbing his arm.

"Don't think that way," Aeris told him, "Just do your best to help her get better."

"She's right," Sephiroth said, entering the room, "Believe me, I know what it feels like to be responsible for hurting someone you care for, but you can't beat yourself up about it. Learn from your mistakes, and try to help the wounds heal."

"But," Cef spoke softly, "I can't do anything to help Cara heal. If she dies, I won't be able to do anything to help her, and it will be all my fault."

"Believe me, she's not going to die," Tifa said, entering the room as well, "Cara's a tough girl. Hell, she got multiple hits in on Sephiroth. She'll be fine, Cef."

"Tifa's right, son," Sephiroth told him, "And Cara really did hurt."

"Please, just leave me alone," Cef pleaded, resting his forehead on Cara's bed.

"Let's go," Aeris said, ushering the other two out of the room. Before leaving herself, she turned to Cef one last time to speak. "Cef, remember, if you need us, we're here. Just ask, and we'll all do our best to help you."

"I know," Cef said. Aeris sighed one last time, turned, and left the room.

"Please, Cara," Cef begged the sleeping girl, "Please don't leave me all alone."

---

It had been nearly a day. Cef had remained next to Cara's bed the entire time, refusing to eat or sleep until she got better. The others had all tried to go back to their daily lived, however, with Sephiroth in the ship and Cara in her condition, that was practically impossible. Cloud was on the deck, his sword leaning up against the guard rail next to him, his elbows resting on the railing, and his eyes looking out into the night sky, when Sephiroth came up next to him.

"Cloud," Sephiroth began, taking a position next to the blond-haired man, "I wanted to thank you for looking after Cef. I know it must have been hard for you, especially since he's, well, you know, my son."

"No problem," Cloud said, "In fact, him being your son is what caught my eye in the first place. If he had brown hair, I probably wouldn't have noticed him."

"I'd also like to thank you for letting me aboard the ship," Sephiroth said, "I know everyone here hates me, and as soon as Cef and Cara are okay, I'll leave. But, I was wondering-"

"If I would let Cef go with you," Cloud finished for him.

"Yes," Sephiroth sighed.

"I think its up to Cef," Cloud said, "He definitely bears a lot of resentment towards you, and he'll want to stay with Cara."

"Which is why I thought Cef and Cara could both come with me," Sephiroth explained.

"Like I said," Cloud said, "It's up to them. Once Cara wakes up and has some time to recover, let them decide."

"One more thing," Sephiroth said.

"What?" Cloud asked.

"I…" Sephiroth stalled, unable to find the words, "I'm sorry. Everything I've done, all the people I've hurt, I know that anywhere I go people will feel the same about me as they do here. All I can do is apologize, and promise that I'll never try to hurt anyone again, especially not Cef."

"Don't worry about Cef," Cloud said, "He's tough; he can bounce back from whatever life throws at him. I've seen him do it, too. I'd be more worried about Cara, or yourself, for that matter."

"I can't worry about myself," Sephiroth said, "Not when there are so many people who need to be worried about."

"One more thing," Cloud said.

"What is it?" Sephiroth asked.

"If Cef does decide to go with you," Cloud began, "He'll probably want regular sparring matches against you, and believe me, Cef packs quite a punch."

"I suppose he does," Sephiroth said, "After all, he is my son." There was a long silence for a while as the two men who were once fierce enemies stared off into the night before either of them spoke again.

"In a sense," Sephiroth sighed, "Cef is everything I ever wanted to be. A Cetra, powerful, wise, and happy, all the things I had wished upon myself, but was never truly able to achieve. And I was a fool to think I could ever achieve any of them."

"What do you mean?" Cloud scoffed, "You're the most powerful person I've ever heard of."

"There are different kinds of power," Sephiroth said, "I might win in a fight, but Cef's the one who can get back up if he loses, shake himself off, and keep on fighting."

"That's true," Cloud agreed, "Makes fighting him a real pain in the-"

"Hey guys," Aeris said, walking up onto the deck, "Never thought I'd see you two getting along."

"I never thought you, of all people, would be so friendly towards me," Sephiroth said, turning to face her.

"Just say it's in my nature," Aeris shrugged, "Have you checked on Cef today?"

"I figured I'd let him be alone," Sephiroth explained, "That's what he wanted, after all."

"I don't think Cef really knows what he wants,' Aeris said, "I think he gets confused by all the things happening to him to the point that it hurts, and he doesn't want anyone to see that's he's hurt, because he wants to appear strong, so he ends up being lonely. I think the best thing Cef could have is someone to care for him, which is why he's so emotional for Cara, because, as things stand now in his eyes, she's the only one who does. But he needs to learn that we all care for him, or, I do at least."

"When'd you become so insightful?" Cloud joked.

"I've just been thinking," Aeris said, "I want to help Cef any way I can, but I can't unless he lets me in."

"I think what Cef's problem is," Cloud began, "Is that he'd do anything to protect the ones he cared about, and it usually ends up hurting himself, but he pretends to be fine, so that they don't get worried."

"I think," Sephiroth said, "That's he my son, and because of that, he could do anything if he wanted to, including get back up after being knocked down."

---

Cef was sitting by Cara's bed. Her hand was in his, he was gently stroking her fingers with his thumb, silently urging her to wake up. She hadn't moved, hadn't twitched, hadn't batted an eyelash for an entire day, and Cef knew that it was his fault. Cef had changed the gauze on Cara's temple twice already to keep the wound clean. Cef turned Cara's hand over and stared at the dark red scrape on her palm. There were wounds all across her body. Every single one of them was Cef's fault.

"Cara…" Cef began, his voice on the brink of crying, "I'm sorry. Everything that's happened to you is because of me. If I had never lost control, you wouldn't be…" Cef never finished his statement. He couldn't acknowledge the fact that Cara was practically in a coma, that she had almost died, and that it was entirely because of him.

"I know you probably don't want to see me," Cef continued, "And I don't blame you. But I have to make sure you're all right. Once you wake up, once I know that you weren't permanently injured from all this mess, I'll leave, you'll never have to see me again. But… please…" Cef's voice broke, he dropped out of his chair, his head in his arms resting on the bed, one hand still clutching Cara's, "Please wake up. Do something, say anything, to tell me you're all right. Please, tell me you're not hurt. If you were, I don't know how I could live." Cef sobbed, his tears being soaked up by the blanket on the bed, until he couldn't anymore. Cara was still unconscious, Cef was still to blame, and no amount of crying could change that.

"I can't cry," Cef thought to himself, "I always cry when things go wrong, or when things get hard, and I can't anymore. If I'm stuck crying, then I won't be able to protect anyone. I can't do what my mother asked, I can't protect Tifa, or Aeris, or…" Cef stared at the girl in the bed besides him and sighed, "If I cry, I won't be able to make sure you get better. I'm going to stop crying, I'm going to do whatever it takes to make sure that you are safe." Even after Cef's sentiment, Cara still didn't wake. Cef's heart dropped another inch, as somewhere in the back of his mind, a hope that it would be like a movie and she wakes up, completely better after his big speech was let down. Cef sighed and began to move for the door. "I know you don't want to see me." Just as Cef was at the door and about to hit the light switch, he heard something. A soft moan, a single word that carried more weight than an entire sermon.

"…Cef…" Cara moaned, still mostly unconscious.

"Cara!?" Cef exclaimed silently. He ran over to the side of the bed and gripped her hand, telling her that he was still there. Her eyes were closed, and she still wasn't moving, but she had spoken, and that was enough for Cef.

"Cef…" Cara moaned again, "Where am I…?"

"It's alright," Cef assured her, "You're safe onboard the Highwind. Don't worry, I'll make sure nothing hurts you."

"Are…" Cara talked slowly, unable to get sufficient amounts of breath to string together more than a few words, "Are you… alright?"

"Don't worry about me," Cef, the self-sacrificing hero, told her, "Please, just focus on getting better."

"I'm fine… look," Cara said. Her nearly motionless lips twitched for a moment in what could be called a smile, an attempt at a laugh. Cef smiled and shook his head. Same old Cara.

"You're hurt," Cef told her, "I'm fine, but we need to focus on you for now."

"Cef," Cara said slowly, "I don't… I don't want you to leave…" Just speaking that much took a lot of energy on Cara's part. Every few words was broken up with a slow gasp of breath.

"What?" Cef asked.

"You said you would…" Cara inhaled again, "You would leave… when I woke up… but I don't want you to… I want you to stay."

"But it's my fault you're hurt!" Cef protested.

"I told you…" Cara said, and the monotonous sound of her moaning voice changing ever so slightly, making it sound more sarcastic and humorous, "I'm fine. You're the one… the one who's beating yourself up… But I want you beside me… all the time."

"How can you say that after all I've done?" Cef questioned, "I've hurt you, I've hurt Aeris, I tried to kill everyone! How can you still love me after that!?"

"Because I…" Cara seemed to be taking a particularly long time to finish this statement, "Because I do… and I always will."

"But you shouldn't…" Cef uttered softly, "I don't deserve to be loved. That dream was right, I've never done a single good thing for anyone. Especially not the ones I care about." Cara's eyes opened slightly, her arms, while still weak, pushed herself up onto the pillows so she was sitting upright, her back resting on the soft cushions. She talked to Cef, speaking quietly.

"That's not true," Cara told him, "You've done plenty of good for everyone around you."

"Like what?" Cef muttered.

"When I was living in the orphanage, I didn't have any friends," Cara told him, "In fact, I was probably the one who got picked on the most. But you didn't care. You just acted like I was any other kid. You played with me, invited me to your house, you really were the best friend I had ever had. Do you know how miserable my life would have been without you? After Meteor fell, I knew I couldn't live long in that city. It became ten times as dangerous, because everyone always thought the world was about to end, so they would do whatever they wanted to whoever they wanted. If it hadn't been for you, I might have been assaulted, kidnapped, raped, and probably killed. You got me out of that city. You showed me all these wonderful places that I would never have been able to see without you, you've taught me so much, showed me such kindness. How can I not love you?" Cef chuckled a bit before answering her.

"You make it sound like I'm some great hero," Cef said, "That was all by chance. And to be honest, I didn't become friends with you for your sake. I never had any friends either, at least not after we moved to the slums, so I was happy to get any friend at all."

"None of that matters to me," Cara smiled, "What matters is that you did it."

"But think about how I hurt you," Cef uttered, "How can you forgive me for that? You could have been killed, and you almost were."

"But I wasn't," Cara said, "I don't blame you for what happened, I blame Jenova, or Sephiroth, or whoever is most responsible. But it certainly isn't you."

"Just because you can forgive me," Cef sighed, "Doesn't mean I can forgive myself. How can I live knowing that I hurt you like this?" Cara put all her effort into leaning forward, lifted his head up, and gently kissed him on the lips, before pulling away and answering his question.

"By knowing that you saved me."


	22. Epilogue

Epilogue: On Wings of Purest White

Cef woke next to Cara. He took a moment to remember why the two of them had fallen asleep together and he had wound up with his arms wrapped around her, before the night before came back to his mind. Cara had insisted that he stayed, that he promise not to leave, and somehow they must have fallen asleep on the bed in the Highwind 3's medical room. Cef pushed himself up on his arms and stared down at the sleeping girl beneath him, long blond hair wrapping around her body. She had a slight smile on her face which seemed odd to Cef. He couldn't imagine how she could be smiling at a time like this. Cef sighed before kissing her on the forehead and getting out of the bed.

Cef stretched, his arms reaching high above his head as he did, doing so hit him with the stunning realization that he hadn't showered in about two days. He quickly put his arms back to his side and went to his room to bathe. Twenty minutes later, he stepped out of the shower and into his bedroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, dark and wet silver hair twisting as it hung down his head. He looked out the window as he stepped out of the bathroom and watched the world zoom by while he walked to his bed, not paying attention to anything in the room. He took a seat on the foot of his bed, his head hung low and his eyes closed in thought when he heard a voice.

"Hi Cef," Cara said. Cef literally jumped in shock and fell off the bed. Cara was sitting on his bed next to him and he was so caught up in thought he hadn't even noticed.

"C-Cara!" Cef stuttered, trying to keep his towel on, "W-what are you doing here!?"

"Hee hee," Cara giggled, "Nice abs, Cef."

"Cara!" Cef shouted.

"Sheesh, your such a prune, Cef," Cara laughed, "You can't even handle your girlfriend seeing you partially naked." Cef climbed back onto the bed and sat down next to her, pulling his towel tight around his waist as he did.

"You startled me is all," Cef said, "And you still haven't told me why you're in here."

"Do I need a reason to see you?" Cara asked.

"Well… no," Cef admitted, "But you don't have to come in right after my showers."

"But it's so much more fun this way!" Cara laughed, "Besides, there's no reason for you to be embarrassed. You're hot." Cara laughed and rubbed Cef's muscular shoulder before he shook her off.

"Cara…" Cef sighed, "What are you doing here?"

"I…" Cara stopped laughing, "I wanted to make sure you were alright. You were really depressed last night and I… I hate seeing you sad like that. I wanted to let you know that you don't have to beat yourself up. I'm perfectly alright now, see?" Cara stood up to show him that she had recovered fully and staggered a bit. Cef caught her hand and simply raised a single eyebrow at her.

"You shut up," Cara laughed.

"Cara," Cef began, "How can you laugh so much right now? With everything that's happened-"

"What?" Cara interrupted him, "I still love you, and you still love me. I know you didn't mean any of the things that happened, so why don't we just put it behind us?"

"'Put it behind us?'" Cef repeated, "It can't really be that simple, can it? Are you really willing to do that?"

"Of course I am," Cara said, "I love you, remember?"

"But…" Cef thought silently for several moments before figuring it out, "So, you'd really just let everything be put to rest? You'd really stay with me?" Cara rolled her eyes before answering truthfully.

"_Yes,_" she told him. Cef exhaled loudly.

"Thank you, Cara," he said. Just then, the door to Cef's bedroom opened.

"Cef, have you seen-" Aeris said as she walked inside before noticing he was naked save for a towel, "Oh- um- sorry!" Aeris shouted as she quickly ran back out and slammed the door shut. "And Cara, you shouldn't be in there!" Aeris' voice called from the other side of the door.

"…Maybe you should get dressed," Cara suggested.

"Yeah…" Cef agreed.

Another twenty minutes later, Cef stepped out of his bathroom door, again, this time wearing a fresh set of clothes (and throwing his old ones in a laundry hamper), with his hair mostly dry and sat down next to Cara again. The two of them fell back, simply laying on the bed next to each other in silence for several minutes before Cara finally spoke, breaking the tension.

"Hey Cef?" she began.

"Yeah?" Cef answered.

"Do you…" Cara said slowly, "Do you have to use any special shampoo, or anything? To keep your hair so shiny?" Cef looked at a lock of silver hair hanging in front of his face, focused on it for a minute, turning his head this way and that to get a better view of it, doing so caused the light from the window to reflect off of its metallic surface into his eye.

"Gah, dammit!" Cef shouted, jerking upwards. Cara merely giggled at his side. "You're no help!" Cef shouted.

"But you're funny!" Cara laughed.

"I know…" Cef grumbled. Cef laid down next to her again and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Cara rested her head on his chest, letting her long, golden hair flow across his chest. The two of them laid there for what seemed like forever, merely enjoying the feeling of being together, before there was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" Cef called.

"Cef… it's me…" Sephiroth said mournfully from the other side of the door.

"What do you want?" Cef shouted back rather angrily.

"I… I wanted to talk with you…" Sephiroth answered.

"Fine," Cef sighed, "Come in." The door opened and his father walked in the room. Cef took his arm from around Cara and sat up as the tall, silver-haired man took a seat in a small, foldable chair next to the bed. Sephiroth rested his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands, seeming to be having difficulty finding the right words. Eventually, he gave up, and simply said it.

"Cef," the man sighed, "I'm going to be leaving soon. I decided I'd live in the wilderness near Wutai- I spent a lot of time there during the war and sort of grew attached to it, and I figured it's not a place many people go by. I was wondering, no," he looked up and into his son's eyes, then at the small girl next to him, then back to Cef, "I was hoping… that you would come with me."

"I…" Cef said, seemingly unable to find the words, "I don't know… What about Cara?"

"She can come too, if she wants to," Sephiroth responded, looking down at the girl, "I can teach you both how to handle a sword."

"I think I'm quite capable of that," Cef snapped back.

"Right… you keep thinking that," Sephiroth smirked. Something about seeing the tall, black-clad, charismatic, infamous man twitch his lips up like that was enough to send a chill down anyone's spine.

"What does that mean?" Cef responded.

"Oh, nothing," Sephiroth answered sarcastically, "Just that you'll live the rest of your life knowing that there's someone better than you is all."

"Until you… what's the phrase?" Cef responded with an equal level of sarcasm, "I believe the term is, 'kick the bucket?'"

"Oh no, Ceffy," Sephiroth smirked, "I plan to live forever, making sure that you never surpass me, unless I'm the one who teaches you how."

"Ceffy?" Cara perked up, interrupting their banter-trade.

"That's what Cef's mother and I would call him when he was a baby," Sephiroth told her. "In fact, I think there's some pictures of baby-Ceffy in this…" Sephiroth picked up the photo album lying on the table next to Cef's bed and thumbed through it until he found one that suited him. "Here we are, baby-Ceffy, naked and proud of it." Cef grabbed the book out of his hands before Cara's eyes had a chance to move.

"What's wrong, _Ceffy_?" Cara laughed.

"I'd really rather not be called that," Cef growled.

"And I'd really rather not have to repair this cut in my sleeve," Sephiroth said, showing the slash mark Cara had left him, "That really hurt, you know?"

"Heh," Cara chuckled, "That was a good shot though, right?"

"Quite…" Sephiroth petered off, "So Cef," he said, changing the subject, "What do you say? Would you come live with me? You can take some time to think, if you'd like." There was a long silence, all of them awaiting Cef's answer, especially Cef himself.

"I…" Cef began, "I don't know… I don't think I'm ready yet…"

"I understand," Sephiroth sighed, "Maybe… You could come visit me, rather than live with me all the time?"

"I think that would work," Cef smiled.

"Thank you, son," Sephiroth responded, smiling sincerely back at him. Something about that image didn't quite feel right to Cef, but he ignored it.

"You're welcome… father," Cef answered. Sephiroth stood up, readying to leave the room, before turning around and coming close to Cef. He wrapped his arms around the young boy and embraced him in a soft hug before turning and leaving. After the door had closed behind him, Cef felt something wet in his eyes.

"Are you okay?" Cara asked.

"Y-yeah," Cef answered, quickly wiping the tears away, "I'm fine." Cara sighed.

"You haven't fully forgiven him, have you?" she asked.

"I don't know…" Cef answered, "I know I should, I know my mother would want me to, but for some reason… I just can't. Not entirely, at least."

"So then how can you just pretend like nothing's wrong?" Cara asked, "You should tell him the truth."

"I wish I could…" Cef responded, "But… when I see him now, I see two things. I see the monster, the thing the rest of the world sees, and I can't forgive him for it, but… I also see the man my mother loved… I see my…" Cef never quite finished that statement. He merely gulped the words down and continued. "I can forgive one, but not the other. What am I supposed to do?" Cef's head sunk to his legs, his shoulders shaking in sobs.

"Cef…" Cara sighed, "Let it all out. Don't hold anything back." Cara wrapped her arms around him, gently pressed herself into his back, let him know that he wasn't alone. "I'm here for you," she whispered to him, "We all are, and we always will be."

"Thank you… Cara…" Cef said, turning and kissing her on the lips, "I… I love you… so much…"

"I love you too, Cef," she answered, kissing him back.

---

And hour later, Sephiroth, with a traveling bag fully of supplies and his Masamune strapped to his side, waited near the ship's exit. A message from Cid across the ship's intercom let all the passengers know they were arriving near Wutai, so the entire cast came to see him off.

"Sephiroth," Cloud said, walking towards the man he had once revered, and once hated, "You… you take care of yourself, alright?"

"Cloud," Sephiroth smirked, "Thanks, and I truly am sorry for everything."

"Yeah, well," Cloud sighed, "I think I probably would have done the same thing if I were in your position, so… no hard feelings, alright?"

"At least not too hard," Sephiroth smirked, "And Cloud, one more thing. I want you to look after Cef and Cara for me, please?"

"Yeah, I will," Cloud nodded.

"We all will," Aeris reassured him, wrapping two arms around her younger brother.

"Oh, Aeris," Sephiroth said rather clumsily, "I… um… I can pay for plastic surgery… to get rid of the scar on your stomach…"

"O-okay…" Aeris paled.

"…Sorry about that," Sephiroth said sheepishly.

"I-it's nothing…" Aeris assured him. There was an awkward silence, the only sounds being the ship landing.

"I guess I don't get plastic surgery?" Yuffie asked, thoughtlessly gripping her covered arm.

"Who are you again?" Sephiroth asked.

"Harsh," Cait Sith smirked up at the girl. And a stuffed animal attempting a smirk is no small feat.

"I'm not standing here to watch this," Tifa said coldly, turning to walk off. Cef grabbed her wrist to stop her.

"Tifa, please, stay…" Cef pleaded, "For me…" Tifa's face twisted up as she tried to deal with the situation, but eventually she only sighed.

"Fine," she said, crouching down to get eye-level with Cef, "I'll stay."

"Thanks, Tifa," Cef smiled, "I couldn't have gotten as far as I did without you."

"Yeah, yeah," Tifa sighed.

"I suppose," Vincent said in his deep, raspy tones, "We'll be seeing you, Sephiroth."

"I suppose so," Sephiroth agreed. Vincent turned to walk away, his cape billowing behind him as he did. As he was walking away, he merely said to himself;

"I could have been his father…"

The Highwind 3 alighted on a clearing just outside the mountains on the southern half of the Wutai continent. The large ramp-like door slid down digging several inches into the dirt. The sky was blue and clear, with a large sun keeping everything bright and warm.

"Well, goodbye…" Sephiroth said to them all before turning to leave.

"Wait!" Cef called, breaking free of his sister's grasp and running to his father. Cara chased after him and the two children approached the man.

"What is it?" Sephiroth asked.

"When…" Cef began, "When should I come visit you?" Sephiroth thought for a moment before deciding. He dropped his travel bag and drew his sword.

"How about we let a duel decide it?" the man smirked. "If you win, you can choose when, and if I win, you and Cara have to spend the next week at the cottage I'm going to build out here?"

"You're on!" Cef called. He drew the two katanas at his side from their sheaths and readied himself. Cara took a few steps back and the two of them, father and son, leapt high into the air and disappeared into the bright sun.

Maybe it was just Cara's imagination, maybe two birds just happened to be flying above them, but two soft, almost glowing feathers floated gently down on the air towards. One black, the other white, they danced together, intertwining their destinies together, forever.

The angel and his son were together at last, and they were happy.


End file.
